Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | Chrysler yesterday stunned the automotive industry by unveiling three production-intent electric vehicles: a two-seat pure electric Dodge sports car based on the Lotus Europa and extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) versions of the Chrysler Town & Country minivan and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited four-door 4x4 SUV. |
Implications | The astonishing move effectively trumps General Motors' own unveiling last week of the production version of the Chevrolet Volt, as the E-REVs revealed by Chrysler reportedly feature the same performance characteristics as the Volt in much more useful packages thanks to much bigger battery packs. |
Outlook | One of the trio of models will make it into production by the end of 2010; the most likely is the Dodge EV because of the less complicated powertrain involved (no internal combustion engine). But with Chrysler sales currently plummeting, the challenge for the company will be to survive that long. |
Chrysler yesterday stunned the automotive industry by unveiling three production-intent electric vehicles (EVs) on cable news channel CNBC. The first is a two-seat Dodge-brand sports car based on the Lotus Europa, which the company claims can go 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds, recharge in 4 hours on 220V current, and achieve a range of 150-200 miles. It features a 26-kWh lithium-ion battery and a 200W (268hp) electric motor in a lightweight platform. Also unveiled were extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) versions of its Chrysler Town & Country minivan and Jeep Wrangler 4-Door, both of which will reportedly be able to drive 40 miles on pure electric power before an onboard internal combustion engine kicks in to extend its electric range to nearly 400 miles. The minivan also features a similar motor, but comes with a 22-kWh battery; it will reportedly run to 60 mph in 8.7 seconds and comes with a massive 468 lbs/ft of torque at zero RPM. The Jeep features a massive 27-kWh battery and a more reasonable 260 lbs/ft of torque from its identical electric motor, allowing it to do 0-60 in 9.0 seconds. The total range for the E-REV minivan and Wrangler should be nearly 400 miles, according to the company, which would equate to roughly 50 mpg after the initial 40 miles of electrical power runs out.
The vehicles have powertrains developed in-house by Chrysler's ENVI division, according to Chrysler Vice-Chairman and President Tom LaSorda, who spoke with Global Insight early yesterday morning. Chrysler's ENVI division, tasked with the development of the company's alternative-fuel and electric powertrains, has used the last year-and-a-half to act as an integrator of various suppliers’ components. A collaboration deal between General Electric and Chrysler announced earlier this year has helped develop these vehicles, according to LaSorda, and several battery suppliers have been employed. Chrysler has said that at least one of these vehicles will enter production by the end of 2010, but that all of them are intended for production. The sports car will be developed in conjunction with Lotus, according to engineering guru Frank Klegon, with which Chrysler is currently holding discussions.
Helping to make these vehicles possible is the partnership that Chrysler announced earlier this year with General Electric, says Klegon. “Chrysler’s partnership with General Electric combines the electric-drive technology demonstrated in the Chrysler Electric Vehicles, with GE’s research and development of advanced energy storage systems”, the executive said in a statement. Those advanced storage systems revolve around a "dual-battery" solution being pursued by GE, in which two kinds of lithium-ion cells (ones specifically formulated for low but steady power output, and others formulated for fast discharge for immediate power) are both employed in the vehicle to optimise it for various driving conditions. “One of the challenges with electric vehicles is finding a battery with the correct balance between power—for example, during vehicle acceleration—and energy for long driving range,” said Klegon. “We believe that combining two unique battery chemistries—one biased toward power and the other toward energy—into a single battery pack is very promising for a future Chrysler Electric Vehicle”, he added.
Outlook and Implications
Perhaps the best-kept secret in the auto industry, Chrysler's electric car bombshell is an attempt to prove to the public and media that the company is indeed working on future vehicles, and that it still has life left in it. As for which of the vehicles will enter production, the most likely candidate is the Dodge EV sports car, as it seems to be based on an existing platform (the Lotus Europa) and is likely to require the least amount of development. The styling of the Europa looks similar enough to that of the Dodge Viper to suggest that it would fit well in the Dodge line-up and provide a very different kind of “halo” performance vehicle for the brand, which is set to see the end of its Viper brand soon. The decision to put an E-REV powertrain in the Jeep Wrangler is a curious one, as a plug-in electric off-roader seems something of an oxymoron (you cannot recharge a vehicle out in the woods). But Chrysler's plan to eventually place a motor at each wheel would make an electric off-road vehicle an intriguing idea, as it would provide exceptional manoeuvrability and traction control, and even running the gasoline (petrol) generator to provide electrical power would provide a significant emissions and fuel economy benefit over a standard Wrangler. For on-road applications, however, in-wheel electric motors can be cumbersome, as they add significantly to the suspension's unsprung weight.
An E-REV powertrain in a fully usable minivan, however, is frankly, genius. Used primarily for family-carrying duties around town and longer-range vacations, the fuel cost savings of such a vehicle would make it extremely appealing to family buyers seeking to reduce their fuel bills. Chrysler scores big points as well for making its minivans stand out from the crowd with such technology; with fewer players in the minivan field and the primary competition now coming from the Japanese and South Korean manufacturers, offering an E-REV powertrain would be a way for Chrysler to immediately leapfrog the competition. No other automaker has announced anything nearly as production-ready as the Chrysler offering, although one assumes that it would not take much for Toyota to adapt the Camry Hybrid's Synergy Drive to the Camry-platform-based Sienna minivan. The only question-mark hanging over Chrysler's minivan is its price: with the Town & Country already coming in north of US$35,000 for a well-equipped version, an extra US$10,000-15,000 for the new powertrain would push the price well into luxury car territory. It is uncertain whether or not the public would be interested in a US$50,000 minivan, even if it does operate on electrical power. Chrysler's other big challenge is to survive long enough to deliver these vehicles; its sales have been steadily dropping by over 30% year-over-year (y/y) for the past several months as a combination of unpopular passenger cars and intentionally reduced fleet sales take their toll on the company's income.
One frequently asked question that arose after yesterday's stunning announcement was how these vehicles compare to the Chevrolet Volt. GM has made much noise about how difficult and time-consuming development of the Volt has been, and how hard it has been for it to wring 40 miles out of the compact four-seater's super-slippery aerodynamic shape. After all of that, Chrysler comes along with a big, blocky minivan that seats seven, and says that its van can do exactly what the Volt does. The difference lies in the systems used: the Volt employs a 16-kWh battery versus the minivan's 26-kWh battery. As a result, the minivan (with far more room to put its components) can carry more energy storage capacity. What is not known is what the internal combustion engine looks like in the minivan, and whether or not it will retain a V-6 or move to something much smaller. The Volt is the "tip of the iceberg", according to one GM engineer, when it comes to what the company plans to do with the car's E-Flex powertrain, hinting that the system is scalable and that larger vehicles are soon to come, such as the Opel/Saturn Flextreme concept crossover utility vehicle (CUV). What Chrysler has done is thrown down the gauntlet to GM, declaring its own EV intentions; this is likely to speed up GM's own schedule of announcements of what vehicles might soon be coming after the Volt.
But even more interesting has been the response from the Japanese automakers—continued outright scepticism. Toyota has announced plans to basically offer hybrid-electric versions of everything it makes, but these differ from GM and Chrysler's planned offerings in that they are not E-REV vehicles; the internal combustion engine will continue to drive the wheels in Toyota's cars, whereas the IC engines in the American offerings will simply serve as generators. Even Toyota's plug-in Prius, expected to arrive in late 2010, will not be in consumers’ hands immediately. Honda has also chimed in, adding fuel cells to its call for more gasoline-electric hybrids, claiming that lithium-ion battery technology simply is not yet ready to allow for pure EV cars to be sold to consumers. Yet fast-forward two or three years, and it looks as though the American companies will beat their Japanese counterparts to the EV party, a mirror image of the current situation regarding hybrids, where the American companies find themselves behind the curve. Add to the mix the work that the domestic auto industry is doing in partnership with North American utilities to find solutions to make the United States more EV friendly (such as researching public charging stations, finding urban dweller street parking charging solutions, etc.), and there are definite signs that the American manufacturers are gaining a head-start in this area.