The Turin Geo Fencing Lab, a joint project between FCA (part of Stellantis) and the City of Turin, has entered its final phase. The project commenced in June 2020 and is aimed at promoting the integration of electrified mobility within the city’s restricted traffic zone.
To this end, the e-mobility business unit of Stellantis has provided the city with two Jeep Renegade Plug-in Hybrids, which have been fitted with sensors that can preemptively recognize entry into a restricted traffic zone, shutting down the IC engine. As such, the transition to electric mobility is ‘piloted’ automatically, to guarantee zero-emissions travel in the limited traffic zone (ZTL).
The project was divided into two phases. First, the two Jeep models were fitted out and tested by Fiat Research Center (CRF), then, in December 2020, they were delivered to the Municipality of Turin to autonomously trial the systems in the field. The tests were aimed at checking the effectiveness of communications between the car and the control center that manages the ZTL gates.
This second phase has been recently completed and the organizers says the initial results are positive. During six months of testing, the pair of Jeeps operated in central Turin ZTL, with more than 70% of the journeys in electric mode. The data collected will be analyzed by the CRF development team, before formulation of a final report.
