Chrysler plugs in big time with three EVs
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The rumors were true. Chrysler has swept from far back to a surprising -- even leading -- spot in the multi-furlong steeplechase to become the first major automaker to deliver an electric, or plug-in electric, vehicle to market.
Chrysler Chairman Robert Nardelli introduced three vehicles this morning at the company’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.: an extended-range electric Chrysler EV (based on a Town & Country platform); an extended-range electric Jeep EV (on a Wrangler platform); and a fully electric sports car dubbed the Dodge EV.
‘These are extraordinary times for the auto industry,’ Nardelli said. ‘Meeting this challenge requires a major, major step forward.’
Chrysler, which had been nearly silent on the topic of advanced drivetrain technology -- its first two hybrids are hitting dealer lots this month -- said it would have 100 test vehicles in government and commercial fleets next year. Then, by late 2010, executives said, the company will be selling one of the models unveiled today within the U.S. After 2010, Chrysler said, it will market an electric-drive vehicle in Europe.
Last week, cross-town rival General Motors Corp. unveiled its production prototype for the Chevrolet Volt, also due out in late 2010. That was a nonfunctioning mock-up designed to draw a lot of press coverage.
Two of the three vehicles revealed by Chrysler today, on the other hand, were fully functional.
The Jeep EV, which uses a battery to get 40 miles of driving range, plus a small gasoline-powered generator to provide an additional 360 miles, was available for test drives. Ditto for the Dodge EV, which, like the Tesla Roadster, is based on a Lotus platform. It has a range of 150 to 200 miles and a top speed of more than 120 mph, thanks to a 26 kilowatt/hour battery, and was driven immediately after the presentation. A Dodge engineer, off the record, said he thought it could be a ‘Tesla killer.’
Up to Speed had a chance to drive both vehicles, and as such testifies to the fact that they were real, and in the case of the Dodge EV, really fast. It hit 100 mph on a straightaway, at which point a speed governor kept it from chewing up asphalt at a faster pace.
Today’s announcement was particularly surprising because Chrysler has been so silent on the subject of electric cars. In January at the Detroit auto show, it introduced a trio of concept cars that ran on some combination of battery, electric drive and internal-combustion technology, but the company was mum thereafter. Earlier this month, Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press, visiting California, said the company had shown working prototypes to dealers. A few weeks later, Chrysler, the automaker with the least-efficient fleet in the industry, delivered.
The surprising agility from Chrysler comes at a time when automakers have suffered the worst sales contractions in decades, prompting a renewed push to get Congress to fund guarantees for $25 billion in loans to the industry.
Those loans, written into last year’s energy act, were aimed at funding development and retooling costs for new fuel-efficient technology to comply with increasingly strict federal fuel economy standards. Chrysler, which has a fleet skewed heavily towards gas-guzzling SUVs, would appear to have few ongoing programs that might qualify for such funding.
But an aggressive electric vehicle program, Nardelli said, would be exactly the kind of project to which such loans would apply. ‘We want to be sure that we are able to have access to this funding once it gets appropriated,’ he said, saying such loans were not a bailout. ‘It allows us to invest more and sooner to be able to achieve these results.’
Chrysler denies that today’s event was designed to show a good face to legislators -- although Nardelli said he met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last week to discuss the loans. Still, in light of the $85-billion bailout of AIG last week, and the at least $700-billion government proposal to buy distressed mortgage securities, clearly the time for making nice with Washington is now -- the cash machine isn’t liable to stay open much past Nov. 4, when the last voting poll closes.
More on this story later, but for now, here are a few fun facts on the cars revealed today:
Jeep EV
- Electric propulsion with gasoline-range extender, 2WD and 4WD
- 200 kW power (equivalent to 268 hp)
- 295 lb-ft. of torque
- Battery: 27 kw/h
- 0-60: 9.0 seconds
- 1/4 mile: 16.5 seconds
- Top speed: 90-plus mph
- Range: 40 miles electric; 400 miles total
Chrysler EV
- Electric propulsion with gasoline-range extender, front-wheel drive
- 190 kW power (equivalent to 255 hp)
- 258 lb.-ft. of torque
- Battery: 22 kw/h
- 0-60: 8.7 seconds
- 1/4 mile: 16.2 seconds
- Top speed: 100-plus mph
- Range: 40 miles electric; 400 miles total
Dodge EV
- Electric propulsion, RWD
- 200 kW power (equivalent to 268 hp)
- 480 lb.-ft. of torque
- Battery: 26 kw/h
- 0-60: under 5.0 seconds
- 1/4 mile: 13.0 seconds
- Top speed: 120-plus mph
- Range: 40 miles electric; 400 miles total
-- Ken Bensinger