Chrysler To Go Electric? (For Real, This Time?)

October 1st, 2013 by Zachary Shahan

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield of Plugin Cars recently had a very interesting article on a car company we almost never discuss here on CleanTechnica — Chrysler. Chrysler doesn’t really sell any electric cars. Technically, the Fiat 500e is available somewhere, but it’s just in a very limited number of places and only a few hundred are being produce (it’s a compliance car). That’s basically the closest thing we have to an electric Chrysler. Ironically, if Nikki is correct, Fiat is actually the reason we don’t have an electric Chrysler.

When Italian automaker Fiat stepped in with a strategic alliance designed to save Chrysler from bankruptcy in 2009, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne wasted no time pulling the plug on Chrysler’s plug-in car program.

…

Prior to Fiat’s involvement in Chrysler, the automaker had trumpeted plans to electrify an entire swath of its models—ranging from an all-electric two-seat Dodge Circuit EV to a range-extended Jeep Patriot, a plug-in minivan and even a concept city car.

These plug-in cars—mostly considered showy concept vehicles without much development to support them—were aborted by Fiat long well before reaching the showroom.

Mr. Marchionne has been very open about his disdain for electric vehicles, backing up this story.

But it seems that Chrysler may be making another pivot, and it seems this pivot will take the company back towards a plugin car future. “Now, with Chrysler’s fortunes turned around, its Italian partnership in jeopardy, and a possible IPO in the pipeline, Chrysler’s EV program is back. At least, that’s what we can infer from Chrysler’s corporate recruitment site, which is currently looking for engineers in the fields of electrified power development and battery management systems at its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.”

Interesting. Good sleuthing by Nikki.

Still, it looks like a plugin car from Chrysler is still a long ways off. And, at that point, the question is whether or not it will be too late for the company. BMW is looking to electrify all of its models. Nissan, GM, Ford, Honda, and Toyota all have multiple plugin cars in their lineups already, and they’re developing more. And then there’s Tesla, which is seeing surging sales and continues to see a surging stock price, as if investors expect the company to someday replace Chrysler in the US automotive Big 3.

Will Chrysler ever be able to catch up?

Photo Credit: country_boy_shane (CC BY-ND license)

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Tags: Chrysler, Chrysler electric cars, Chrysler plugin cars, Fiat, fiat electric cars

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

oknahs

Can you imagine a pickup truck hybrid. Only 10pct of trucks sold are used for work. We guys just love trucks. A hybrid with 250 hp would be enough to pull around a 4500 lb pickup. Lets get someone to produce one. I looked at a Honda Ridgeline with a 6 cyl and it gets a combined rating of 17 mpg. My 06 Jeep Commander with a v6 gets 15 mpg combined but weighs 6500 lbs . Honda could do much better with a small pickup.
LauraKearns

This is a great step in the right direction in making it
easier for drivers to transition away from using oil as the only source of
fuel. We can break the oil monopoly today if we embrace replacement fuels like
ethanol, methanol, natural gas and electricity, but those fuels need to be
accessible to consumers.
Bob_Wallace

Looks like a 55 Chevy to me…
J_JamesM

Hmm. I’d buy an electric Chrysler 300 in a heartbeat. Love those things; they look like a poor(ish) man’s Rolls Royce. Except prettier. But the odds of that happening are next to nil…
- Bob_Wallace
  
  That time with Daimler brought some styling changes to Chrysler. They’ve turned out some interesting cars.
  - J_JamesM
    
    And thank goodness for that. I still see K-cars plodding around sometimes, and it gives me a little thrill of horror. Kind of like the gag reflex when one sees a Pontiac Aztek, or the sour taste in your mouth when you encounter a Cadillac Cimarron.
    
    And let’s not even begin on the utter lunacy that produced the beige convertible PT Cruiser.
    - Ivor O’Connor
      
      lol. You have so totally lost me. When you talk about K-cars, Pontiac Azteks, Cadillac Cimarrons, or PT Cruisers you might as well be talking about sports players. I may have heard their names but I’m not quite sure…
      
      Now if you talk about the Tesla I’ll go into a lot of details…