Chrysler is turning green with jealousy at the Chevy Volt’s star status and now it’s taking a stand. 2010 seems to be the magic year for electric cars and Chrysler is rising to the water level, it just announced that one of its three new electric cars will debut in North America in time to compete with the Chevy Volt.

Chrysler LLC will be producing “advanced electric-drive technology packaged in three different vehicles” for each of its brands: Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge according to a company press release. The company is in the middle of negotiating battery contracts and pushing toward production, but time will tell if it can catch up to the likes of GM with its Chevy Volt. Or, perhaps some of the work will be easier because of GM’s previous progress which Chrysler could learn from.

This is a step toward embracing the current green trend and Chrysler is hoping to catch some of that sunshine buzz. Bob Nardelli, Chairman and CEO at Chrysler says:

We have a social responsibility to our consumers to deliver environmentally friendly, fuel efficient, advanced electric vehicles, and our intention is to meet that responsibility quickly and more broadly than any other automobile manufacturer.

Big words, but the electric vehicle space is getting more crowded every day, it will be interesting to see how Chrysler differentiates itself. This is especially poignant when considering its description of the underlying technology. The company refers to “Electric Vehicle Technology” which seems to mimic Chevy Volt technology and “Range-extended Electric Vehicle Technology” which sounds a lot like a Toyota Prius.

The Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler EV projects are driven by an internal unit called ENVI, which was formed to reach green segments of consumers.  This is especially clear with statements like “Electric Vehicles provide the opportunity to fulfill social responsibility, reduce dependency on foreign oil, and eliminate monthly gasoline bills, while delivering performance and utility that our customers desire.”

Chrysler is a little late to the game but perhaps it can gain new efficiencies by studying paths just blazed by GM with its Chevy Volt project.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 pm under Auto, Green Technology, Technology.  Print This Post

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