Last week Chrysler surprised everyone with the announcement of not one but three electric vehicle concepts, although two are technically hybrids and one is an electrified version of a Lotus sports car.
The company showed working versions of the all-electric Dodge EV sports car, which is essentially an all-electric version of the Lotus Europa sports car. It follows in the footsteps of the Mercedes' S-Class hybrid in featuring a Lithium-ion battery pack.
Chrysler's two other electric vehicles are actually plug-in hybrids based on the current Chrysler Voyager minivan and Jeep Wrangler off-roader. The two Chrysler hybrids bear more than a passing similarity under the skin to the recently announced Chevy Volt. Like the Volt, the hybrid Voyager and Wrangler are being classified as range-extended electric vehicles. This means they are driven by an electric motor and a battery pack, which is recharged overnight via mains power.
Range-extended hybrids also feature an on-board petrol engine that is only fired up as the batteries approach empty. This differs markedly from hybrids currently on sale from Toyota, Honda and the like, where the petrol engine is still the car's primary source of motivation, with the electric engine only used at low speeds, and during deceleration and overtaking.
According to Chrysler its range-extended hybrids should be able to do 40 miles (or about 65km) of solely electric driving, a figure line-ball with the Chevy Volt.
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