Fiat Chrysler gets ‘smart’ with Tesla

Fiat Chrysler has signed a partnership deal with Tesla to reduce its CO2 emissions. The Italian-American car manufacturer will jointly report the emissions from its own cars and the cleaner electric cars from Tesla to the European Union. That trick is said to cost Fiat Chrysler half a billion euros.

New stricter emission regulations will come into force in the EU from next year. If Fiat Chrysler does not comply with the rules, the company may be fined up to 2 billion euros, according to an analyst from investment bank Jefferies. According to the car group, cooperation with Tesla is the cheapest way to meet the requirements. The EU focuses on total emissions from car manufacturers and therefore gives manufacturers the opportunity to work together.

According to an earlier report from investment bank UBS, Fiat Chrysler would be the only automaker in Europe that could count on a fine by introducing stricter emission regulations. The car manufacturer would have too few electric cars in the pipeline.