AUBURN HILLS, MI – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rated the battery-electric Fiat 500e's highway-cycle performance at 108 MPGe. EPA testing also has indicated that, when fully charged, the zero-emissions vehicle will travel about 87 miles.

In addition, the EPA estimates the annual cost to power the Fiat 500e is $500. The estimate is calculated by factoring electricity price projections into 15,000 miles of travel at a vehicle's combined city/highway performance rating. The Fiat 500e has a 116-MPGe city/highway rating; its city-cycle rating is 122 MPGe.

“The FIAT brand is about unique Italian style, fuel efficiency, and great value. Now we have taken a page from our own playbook to change the expectations of what an electric vehicle can be,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of FIAT Brand North America. “Our environmentally sexy Fiat 500e offers a design proposition like no other, while delivering unsurpassed MPGe and class-leading range making our 500e a serious contender in the market.”

EPA testing estimates the vehicle’s energy-consumption rate at just 29 kWh per 100 miles. Further, the Fiat 500e scores a perfect "10" on two EPA scales that reward vehicles for low tailpipe emissions.

The 2013 500e builds on the Fiat brand's small-car formula, while adding an all-new, battery-electric powertrain that produces 111 hp. It recharges in less than four hours with its Level 2 (240V) onboard charging module (OBCM).

Supplementing its distinctive styling cues are eight efficiency-inspired exterior enhancements that contribute to a 13-percent improvement in aerodynamics, compared with the Fiat 500 Lounge, according to the automaker.

The Fiat 500e debuted in December at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. It arrives at FIAT Studios in California in second-quarter 2013.