Chrysler Goes Electric: the Dodge EV, Jeep EV and Chrysler EV

Big news from Chrysler LLC: Three electric vehicle model prototypes were just revealed, with one model slated to be introduced in the United States in 2010 across all three brands. They're calling them the Dodge EV, an all-electric performance sports car, the Jeep EV, a Wrangler-based range-extended electric vehicle, and the Chrysler EV, a range-extended electric minivan. One hundred of these electric vehicles will hit the roads in government, business, utility and Chrysler development fleets next year.

"This technology provides customers with a vehicle that has zero tailpipe emissions and a 150 to 200 mile driving range--far exceeding most Americans' daily commutes, as nearly 80 percent of Americans drive less than 40 miles per day, or 14,000 miles per year," said Frank Klegon, Executive Vice President, Product Development, in a company statement. "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." Questions were raised about the financial strength of Chrysler to actually get these vehicles to the market, and also whether or not they'd be able to do it without a multi-billion dollar governmental loan. Their response was that although it's a tough market right now, they assured everyone they'd be around to bring these vehicles to market and are dedicated to the continued development of advanced production-intent vehicles with electric drive technology.

Wondering which one will be brought to market first? We are too (and we've got our eye on that Dodge EV sportscar). While this project is still in the beginning stages, go ahead and take a look at each of these EVs--which zero emission ride would you like to see put into production first?

3 EVs in development - photo © Chrysler LLC