7:24 am Vehicles
Chrysler LLC says it will unveil three concept electric vehicles next year that are designed to be totally electric or supplemented by diesel motors or hydrogen fuel cells.
The concepts, to be shown in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, are an effort to call attention to the company’s research in futuristic power systems.
But none will be powered by the advanced systems yet, a company spokesman said.
“The issue is really more the packaging, today’s knowledge of what the packaging will be in the future,” said spokesman Rick Deneau.
Each of Chrysler’s brands — Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep — will get one of the concepts, the company said in a video posted on its Web site.
The Chrysler ecoVoyager is a four-passenger car to be powered by an electric motor with a lithium-ion battery and a small hydrogen fuel cell to extend its range to 300 miles between charges from a conventional power outlet.
The power train will be beneath the floor and the area used for a conventional engine will be used for passenger and storage space, the company said.
The Dodge Zeo, a four-passenger sport wagon, will be a totally plug-in electric car with a lithium-ion battery capable of traveling 250 miles between charges.
And the Jeep Renegade is a small two-seater, four-wheeldrive that can be used off the road. It would be powered by an electric motor and lithiumion battery linked to a small diesel engine. Chrysler envisions that it will get more than 110 miles per gallon on diesel fuel and have a long range between plug-in charges.
All the concepts will be drivable when unveiled in Detroit, but will have conventional power trains until the technology is finished for their ultimate power trains, Deneau said.
Todd Goyer, another Chrysler spokesman, said the company will talk about time lines for bringing the technology to market as it gets closer to the auto show in January.