Fiat Chrysler Is Hopping On The Electric Bandwagon

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid plug (Credit: Chrysler )

Fiat Chrysler has been a famous electric vehicle holdout, but that seems to be changing in a hurry. Bloomberg is saying an anonymous source inside the company has leaked some details of a new all-electric Chrysler. It’ll be revealed at CES in January.

This is shocking, but not really. After all, Chrysler already shocked us with a plug-in hybrid version of the Pacifica minivan. Rumor has it this new EV will be an all-electric version of the Pacific. That makes sense, because it would take just deleting the engine, adding an extra electric motor or two, and expanding the battery pack. Chrysler probably engineered the minivan from the get-go to run on pure electricity.

Who would’ve thought Chrysler would beat Toyota and Honda to market with a hybrid minivan, and a pure electric?

Really, it’s no coincidence Chrysler is helping lead this charge. Electrification is still considered a semi-luxury by many. Chrysler is a semi-luxury brand. It’s a better fit than trying to push an electric version of the Dodge Journey or Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Bloomberg claims Maserati is working on a new EV. No shock there, because Tesla has done quite well with luxury electrics. Just about every luxury brand is working on a Model S or Model X “fighter,” so why not Maserati too? A couple of months ago, the head engineer at Maserati hinted at this move, so the news is likely legit.