Fiat Dodges CO2 Fines By Pooling Cars With Tesla

Fiat Chrysler, also known as FCA, has confirmed it will pool its cars with Tesla to avoid getting hit by new European Union emissions fines.

The statement from the California-based firm followed a Financial Times report that FCA will pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the electric car-maker.

The European Union imposes limits on the average levels of carbon dioxide emissions a company's cars can produce. But firms can pool CO2 credits between them to avoid fines from the European Commission.

Fiat Chrysler said: "The whole point of a CO2 credit market is to leverage the most cost-effective ways to reduce overall GHG [Greenhouse Gas] emissions in the market."

Last June, the company announced a 9 billion euro investment in moving its vehicles towards electric power to adapt to European norms.

However critics say the company has been too slow in reducing emissions from its cars. (AFP)