Chrysler to Double Its Model Count with a New EV

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

This is a marque which will celebrate its centenary next year with only a single model on sale in its showrooms, showing up as the Pacifica and its numerous variants. Suits in corner offices seek to right this detail with an electric vehicle they will unveil early next week.

And, no, it’s not likely to be the Airflow – at least not the concept car which was looking all but production-ready over two years ago. It is alleged by some in the industry that certain company leaders wanted a do-over with that model, meaning the vehicle set to drop next Tuesday may not look anything like the handsome show car. There’s every chance in the world it will likely carry a fresh name, as well.


The hero shot at the top of this post doesn’t give us much to go on, though two more photos are promised before the car itself shows up next week. Yes, that means there will be a trio of teasers for a concept car which, by definition, is itself a teaser. Few companies play that particular game like Stellantis, it must be said. Hedging its own bets, Chrysler is calling the concept reveal an “advance look at one potential path” to the brand’s all-electric future.


That’s a heckuva lot of wiggle room for what’s actually in the pipeline. Saul Goodman would be proud. Nevertheless, one of the STLA platforms will surely underpin the forthcoming concept car, though we’d be pleasantly surprised if Chrysler engineers spill any beans about battery size or total driving range at this stage in the car’s development. One can hope. Same goes for the likes of horsepower stats and the like.


After sunsetting the burly 300 sedan, Chrysler showrooms could use an infusion of new product, though it has been some spell since there were any more than three different things on sale at at any one time (200, 300, and minivan variants).


Reaching back a bit further to just the late 2000s in the waning days of Cerberus, we find a variety of products including the Crossfire and PT Cruiser plus the Pacifica when it was a crossover and a Durango-based Aspen SUV. Buyers with families could choose the 300 or Sebring, not to mention the (then) ubiquitous minivans.


[Image: Stellantis]


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Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Geozinger Geozinger on Feb 11, 2024

    "The 3rd option would be a more upscale Outback fighter but cautious because of the failure of the Buick Regal TourX. But that wasn't a bad car it was just priced and promoted wrong."


    What? When was the TourX ever promoted? I live in GM Country and if they ever promoted the TourX, it was very, very, very subtle. Maybe they moved one out of the way to get a better shot of an Enclave for a TV commercial.


    We have all kinds of oddball GM rolling stock around here, but I don't think I have ever seen more than two TourX in the last several years.

  • CanadaCraig CanadaCraig on Feb 15, 2024

    I won't buy an EV Chrysler sedan. But I might if that all-new Chrysler sedan had one of the Hurricane Straight 6 engines under the hood. It's silly of Chrysler to declare itself an EV-ONLY brand. Why box themselves in like that?

  • Varezhka Not the biggest surprise, considering that the new 500 is a platform sibling of a similarly sized (but dead) Opel Adam. And Italy, its biggest market, is not the best market for BEVs. Curious if it will be the same 1.2L I3 mild hybrid as the bigger 600.
  • El scotto Does it have buttons for HVAC and infotainment controls? Steering wheel controls count.
  • SCE to AUX Fiat USA is a joke, and may not exist in 2026. They could put a Hemi in a 500 and nobody would buy it.
  • SCE to AUX "CEO Atsushi Osaki said Subaru remains committed to its horizontally opposed engine because it's a brand-building icon....Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro said his company will develop future versions of its trademark rotary engine to run on carbon neutral fuels and combine with electrified hybrid setups."These statements say a lot about how lost these companies are.[list][*]Subaru sticks with the boxer because it's an 'icon', not because of any technical merits?! Sad - the boxer is a loud, inefficient engine - so they're right. Does anyone actually buy a Subaru for the boxer engine?[/*][*]Mazda predictably killed the rotary range extender on the extinct MX-30 because it couldn't pass emissions. That's the story of its life. It's a terrible engine, but Mazda slavishly wastes money on it every year.[/*][/list]
  • El scotto Please ohhh please Abarth most of them. Well, OK some pastel ones too.
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