Chrysler Viability Plan Reveals Full Product Pipeline

Chrysler LLC appears to have settled on the Dodge Circuit concept car as the basis for its first foray into the burgeoning electric-vehicle market.

Having promised to produce an electric-drive vehicle for retail delivery in 2010, Chrysler has kept the make and model a closely guarded secret. The auto maker had indicated only that it would be based on one of four concept vehicles: the fully electric 2-seat Circuit, a minivan and two Jeeps configured as extended-range EVs.

But under terms of taxpayer-funded emergency financing from the U.S. Treasury Dept., Chrysler was compelled last month to submit a detailed viability plan. Buried deep within is a product-cadence chart that depicts an “EV roadster.”

Chrysler declines comment on the chart, but the roadster, shown launching in 2010, is surrounded by previously acknowledged programs such as a new Jeep Grand Cherokee midsize SUV and a hybrid version of the Dodge Ram fullsize pickup. They are scheduled for production in late 2009 and late 2010, respectively.

A Dodge-brand electric sports car was unveiled in September, as Chrysler sought to assure an increasingly skeptical public it had advanced-technology products in its development pipeline. Based on a Lotus Europa platform acquired through a Chrysler partnership with Lotus Engineering, the car boasts a range of up to 200 miles (322 km) on a single charge.

It was restyled and introduced as the Dodge Circuit at January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Treasury submission provides the most detailed glimpse of Chrysler's future-product portfolio since the auto maker was acquired in 2007 by Cerberus Capital Management LP. Chrysler is seeking $9 billion to survive the current economic downturn that has caused industry sales to plummet near their lowest point in 40 years.

The product-cadence chart lists seven additional electric-drive or hybrid vehicles launching between late 2010 and early 2014, including a second-generation Ram hybrid pickup, slated for 2013.

Four of the alternative-powertrain vehicles feature technology from Fiat Auto Group, assuming a successful conclusion to Chrysler's tie-up talks with the Italian auto maker. The four vehicles include a battery-electric “mini compact” set to arrive in late 2010.