Chrysler Group will develop an electric vehicle (EV) based on the Fiat 500 Electric shown at the
Detroit Motor Show earlier this year.
All the development work will be done at Chrysler Group Headquarters at Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company will deal with the engineering of the electric powertrain module, lithium ion battery and EV control unit. Production is scheduled for 2012 with prices to be announced nearer the launch date. It promises to be competitive with similar electric vehicles.
There is no official indication whether cars will be exported to Europe. Later this year Chrysler will start production of conventional Fiat 500s for the North American market.
At the opposite end of the spectrum the group has switched from developing the Ram Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) in favour of a plug-in hybrid version (PHEV). An evaluation fleet of 140 vehicles will be built for a three-year test programme across the US. The pick-ups use the company's 5.7-litre Hemi V8 and a 12-killowatt hour lithium ion battery pack that can give a claimed 20 miles of zero emissions driving.
John Lambert - 23 Mar 2010