The Fiat 500 has just won the Compasso d’Oro ADI (ADI Golden Compass), Europe’s oldest and most prestigious design award, continuing the Italians company’s rise.
An international panel of industry experts, chaired by Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis, selected the Fiat 500. The trophy was presented to Roberto Giolito, Fiat Design Director, who attended the awards ceremony held in Rome at the Pelanda Museo Macro del Testaccio.
The Compasso d’Oro ADI isn’t the first award for the baby Fiat. In total, the 500 has been awarded 40 international awards so far as well as a 5-star Euro NCAP crash safety rating.
Andrew Humberstone, Managing Director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK said:
“Clearly, there is a massive amount of work still to be done. However, the positive results of the task we initiated three years ago to improve customer satisfaction in Fiat and its products are starting to show through.
“We know there is a long way to go. But I am sure that these last two years of steadily improving results will continue to be seen in future JD Power surveys.”
Fiat has been recognised as Europe’s lowest volume weighted CO2 emissions, according to JATO Dynamics. Fiat Automobiles logged a CO2 average of just 123.1 g/km (4.7 g/km less than the 2009 average), placing it top of all brands for the fourth year running, and well ahead of the European target of 130 g/km, due to be met in 2015.
Fiat was also ranked first among the motor groups with 125.9 g/km, an improvement of five g/km on last year. The figure takes into account all Fiat’s brands, including Ferrari and Maserati, and is helped by initiatives such as eco:Drive (in-car software that analyses the way that the car is being driven and suggests ways to improve it); Start&Stop; electronic gearshift management (Dualogic robotised transmission); electronic traction management (Traction Plus); and TwinAir engines.
This is the second time that the Compasso d’Oro ADI award has been given to a Fiat model, as the 2004 winner was the then-new Fiat Panda.
