Fiat asks Chrysler to lead the charge
New parent company Fiat has tasked Chrysler with developing electric vehicle products for the US marketChrysler has begun work on an electric version of new parent company Fiat's 500 for the US market.
Unveiled in prototype at the Detroit motor show in January, the Fiat 500EV will start rolling off Chrysler production lines in 2012. Timed in part to take advantage of government grants aimed at getting zero-emission cars on US roads ASAP, it shows the speed with which Fiat has put Chrysler to work as what it calls a "vehicle electrification centre of competence" for the transatlantic group as a whole.
Engineering work on the powertrain -- comprising a lithium-ion battery pack, a high-power electric motor and a control module -- will take place at Chrysler headquarters in Michigan. Specification details are yet to be released. The company's release mentions it's also working on partnerships for the development of EV charging infrastructures, to be announced later.
The company's senior VP engineering, Scott Kunselman, described the small, lightweight 500 platform as "perfect for integrating electric-vehicle technology". Chrysler is already well advanced in its plans to release a conventionally powered Fiat 500 in North America later this year.
Pricing for each will be announced closer to launch; the company says expect them to be competitive with similar vehicles in their sectors.
Chrysler is also set to benefit from a US Energy Department grant of up to US$48 million to start work on a plug-in hybrid version of its Dodge Ram pickup. The company will build 140 Ram PHEVs for a three-year evaluation taking in the full gamut of climatic and topographical conditions across the US landmass.
The Ram PHEV will marry up the conventional truck's 5.7-litre hemi V8 with a dual-mode hybrid transmission and electric motor powered by a 12 kW/Hr lithium ion battery pack. The company claims it's good for about 30 km of pure-electric driving. It's expected that testing will yield combined-cycle fuel economy gains upward of 65 percent in average driving conditions.
The Chrysler grant represents a tiny part of the federally funded US$2.4 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act DOE Vehicle Electrification program. It will help Chrysler and 21 partners including utility companies, government agencies and universities conduct in-depth testing important for speeding up the advancement of the technology and taking it to market.
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