Chrysler LLC Plan: An Electric Fiat?
The Chrysler Group will show off two vehicles auto shows in 2010 hinting at future collaborations under Italy’s Fiat. Among Chrysler’s future vehicles will likely be an electric version of the Fiat 500 minicar and a Lancia Delta mid-size hatchback with a Chrysler grille. Although Chrysler has no immediate plans to sell either of the vehicles in North America it will be interesting to see what they roll out. A corner of Chrysler’s stand may also be dedicated to showing vehicles from Fiat’s luxury-sports brands, the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Maserati GranCabrio.
Chrysler may also display the entire Fiat 500 lineup for the first time in North America, and this would include the likes of the 500C cabriolet, scheduled to go on sale in 2011, and the sporty 500 Abarth. The 500 hatchback, previewed in April at the New York auto show, will go on sale in the United States in late 2010.
Chrysler will build the 500 for North America at its plant in Toluca, Mexico, beginning late 2010. Initial capacity will be 100,000 units a year — half of them destined for North America and half for Latin America. The 500 will be powered by Fiat’s 1.4-liter FIRE engine, for “fully integrated robotized.” Engine output will range from about 100 hp for the base model to about 175 hp for the turbocharged version destined to be the Abarth sporty model.
Posted by on Apr 6 2010 in Future Cars
