Italian vehicle company Fiat (IW1000/81), on June 1, offered new car buyers the chance to purchase fuel at one euro (US$ $1.24) a liter, about half the current price in Italy, for up to three years.
The offer, running through June and July, only applies to Fiat cars bought in Italy, and does not apply to other brands owned by the group, which include Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari.
Under the deal, buyers are to receive a smart card enabling them to buy a quantity of petrol or diesel at the cut price, depending on the model purchased, from 4,500 liters of petrol for the new Freemont SUV to 1,200 for a small Panda.
The cards are valid in any of the 4,200 IP filling stations in Italy for three years from the date of acquiring the car.
Petrol prices are hovering around two euros a liter in Italy, having just been increased by two cents to help pay for reconstructing areas in the northeast of the country hit by two earthquakes last month.
The transport ministry said on June 1 that new car sales dropped in May by 14.e% to 147,102 vehicles, a reflection of the recession that has gripped the third-biggest eurozone economy.
Fiat sales were 11.2% lower in May, but its market share increased to 31.6% from 30.5% in the same month a year earlier, the ministry data showed.
The automaker, which also owns the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands has received a boost from U.S. sales that jumped by 30 % on the year in May.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
See Also
Mazda, Fiat to Jointly Produce Sports Car
India's Tata Motors, Fiat End Distribution Pact
