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FCA Readies Hybrid Minivan
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV isn't saying much about the plug-in hybrid powertrain it's developing for its next-generation minivan, notes the Detroit Free Press.
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV isn't saying much about the plug-in hybrid powertrain it's developing for its next-generation minivan, notes the Detroit Free Press.
But CEO Sergio Marchionne vows the company's "massive" program will lead to other plug-in hybrid systems for an upcoming large crossover vehicle and eventually the company's pickup trucks.
Virtually all major carmakers are developing hybrid powertrains to help them meet future fuel economy standards in the U.S. and Europe. But FCA currently has no hybrid vehicles in its lineup.
The Free Press points out that Chrysler offered hybridized versions of its Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango large SUV/crossovers for about three months before phasing them out in late 2008. The company also marketed the TEVan, an all-electric commercial minivan, in 1993-1995. But it found sold only a few dozen of the $120,000 vehicles.
The only electrified model in FCA's current lineup is the $32,300 battery-powered Fiat 500e electric minicar sold in California and Oregon.
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