Chrysler Celebrates Earth Day by Revealing All-New Electric Minivan Concepts to U.S. Postal Service
Chrysler invented the minivan 25 years ago. More than 12 million minivan sales later, Chrysler showed off four all-electric Chrysler Town & Country minivan concepts to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as part of the USPS Earth Day celebration on April 22.
Chrysler, in conjunction with the USPS and select energy service providers, also announced that the company intends to apply for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Transportation Electrification stimulus program for a federal grant, which would enable Chrysler to establish a nationwide demonstration fleet of zero-emission electric minivans that could be used by the U.S. Postal Service for mail delivery.
With more than a 40 percent market share, Chrysler and Dodge minivans continue to lead the segment Chrysler created more than 25 years ago. The ENVI electric minivan concepts illustrate Chrysler’s innovation with electric vehicle technology and show what the future could hold.
Chrysler’s ENVI group leveraged the flexibility of its electric-vehicle strategy to demonstrate an all-electric version of its best-selling minivan. The electric minivan concepts pictured are targeted specifically for use by the U.S. Postal Service for mail delivery.
“Chrysler and the Postal Service have an established relationship as there are more than 10,000 of our minivans in the Postal Service fleet,” said Lou Rhodes, Vice President—Advance Vehicle Engineering and President of ENVI, Chrysler Group LLC. “The Postal Service is a recognized environmental innovator and leader, and we are excited at the prospect of continuing our relationship by working to deliver alternative energy postal delivery vehicles in the future.”
Because robust grid integration is essential for widespread customer acceptance of electric vehicles, Chrysler has enlisted the involvement of key utility partners, including Duke, ConEd and DTE. Each has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Chrysler to equip post offices in strategically selected regions of the United States with a charging infrastructure for the envisioned program. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) also has signed an LOI to provide USPS integration tools.
“Our partnership is structured to easily expand into additional regions of the country as the scope of the project increases,” added Rhodes.
ENVI
A symbol that represents the first four letters of environment is Chrysler Group LLC’s entrepreneurial in-house organization focused on electric-drive production vehicles and related advanced technologies. ENVI is a cross-functional, nimble team empowered to move quickly and access vast resources within Chrysler in order to integrate electric-vehicle technology into existing products. ENVI-powered electric vehicles inspire a personal mobility revolution, creating a new generation of responsible, no-compromise Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles.
