Chrysler is trying to show it’s serious about it’s ENVI Electric Vehicles division by releasing a minivan using their technology to a fleet customer. The announcement is designed to coincide with Earth Month (pictures were released on Earth Day). I was waiting to see if the company would have a press release on the program following the pictures, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Chrysler showed three electrified vehicles as part of it’s ENVI electric vehicles program. I speculated at the time that the only model with a real chance at production was the Lotus Europa-based Dodge EV (Now Circuit). The others seemed just an attempt to show everyone that it was working on a family-friendly vehicles.
The Circuit EV still will be the one going into production first. It looks like the others, particularly the Town and Country minivan, might be going into production later as Chrysler intends to bring a “portfolio” of electric vehicles to market.
The vehicles that Chrysler showed as part of the ENVI program were all range-extended electric vehicles similar to the GM’s Voltec (formerly E-Flex) system being developed for the Chevrolet Volt. The vans being sold to the U.S Postal Service are not range-extended however. The routes the company uses are suitable for the 40-miles in electric only range that the system was designed for.
Therefore the U.S Postal Service vans are built to be electric-only, but are using the exact same system sans range-extender that would go on sale publicly. Chrysler’s ENVI division head Lou Rhodes said Chrysler plans to market the battery-only vehicles to fleet customers, and that it only plans to make the range-extended version available to retail customers.
I think this is a cool program, it should help Chrysler fine tune it’s technology and get some real world usage out of it. I sure hope the company really puts a production version of the van into production. A electrified minivan like the Town and Country could serve families really well. I think it could breathe new life into the segment.
If they can pull off a 40-mile range with that kind of an non-aerodynamic shape as well, more power to them! GM was struggling to fit everything in and get the kind of range it promised on the Volt. Chrysler says 250 of these vehicles will be going into the U.S.P.S fleet. Maybe if all goes well the program will go much more widespread? For Chrysler’s sake, let’s hope it does.
April 28th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Heh.
So, this past March, the US Postal Service posed the idea of NOT delivering the mail on Tuesdays because they continue to run at a nearly $3Bn/yr deficit. Granted, they have a pretty sweet gig as they are required by the Constitution, but it makes me wonder.
With all news out there these days about newspapers and magazines going under due to competition from the web, it’s not hard to imagine the USPS facing similar threats, but here’s Chrysler devoting time and energy to coming up with some EVs to deliver mail. Maybe they’ll get some kind of government contract and get to make ALL the USPS delivery vehicles so they can get back to resting on those laurels or something.
Forget the T&C, they need a long range, electric Sprinter that UPS, FedEx, and DHL could be testing out. It just makes me wonder when you see Chrysler being in such sad shape, coming up with a plan to provide vehicles for another major industry on the verge of failing or being drastically reduced.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Who knows, I could definitely see the government granting them some sort of contract if everything in the program works out.
I do think it’s smart though; Chrysler gets real-world testing of it’s system and the U.S.P.S gets to see if it’s a workable proposition.
Like you said the Postal Service will always be around so if they get some sort of deal in the future achieved with the government to provide vehicles, I don’t see how it could be a bad thing. Of course the company can’t rely on a deal for everything, but getting any business, especially right now, is a good thing. I don’t see that the company is dumping a lot of money into reaching into this market either.
It should only help reduce the costs and build real-world experience for when the retail versions of the vehicle launch. That’s just my 2 cents on this issue though.