If you’re expecting an electric vehicle from Chrysler, you’ll have to wait a little longer. The company is adjusting its plans. Chrysler’s long-awaited electric crossover is officially on hold after an email was leaked notifying suppliers of the adjustments. Here’s what you can expect now.
Despite announcing plans to offer an all-electric lineup through 2028, Chrysler has yet to launch a single electric vehicle. Now it seems that it will arrive even later than expected.
After an internal Stellantis email was leaked last week, first reported via MoparInsiders, Chrysler showed that it is pausing its electric crossover. The email sent to providers states that the program “has been suspended until further notice. “
Chrysler’s electric crossover was originally scheduled to come out later this year, but the release date has been pushed back.
At the 2023 Reuters Events Automotive USA Conference, Chrysler CEO Chris Feuell said the brand’s first EV will be a two-row crossover in 2025.
The electric crossover was expected to be an evolution of the Airflow concept from 2022. However, Stellantis’ head designer, Ralph Gilles, who oversees Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Maserati, said the EV was “evolving in a new direction” in November 2023.
Inspired by the Airflow, Chrysler’s electric crossover was intended to run on the STLA Large platform, which also underpins the new Jeep Wagoneer S and the Dodge Charger Daytona EV.
The Airflow was based on Chrysler’s RU platform, used for the Pacifica Hybrid, but the company said the EV platform would offer more capabilities.
Chrysler revealed its new vision with the radical Haylcyon concept show last year. Earlier this year, a brand spokesperson confirmed to Car and Driver that “Chrysler brand CEO Chris Feuell has said that we are working to develop a production version of the Chrysler Halcyon concept at some point in the future.” However, no launch date was confirmed.
Chrysler’s electric crossover being put on hold is the latest in a series of setbacks for Stellantis EV ambitions in the US.
Dodge and, by extension, Chrysler get the most of their business from other people with bad credit. There are many more V6 Chargers on the road than V8 models. The base price of a charger has now increased from 35k to 60k. The luxury move will kill Stellantis.
Stellantis sales fell another 15% in the US last year, marking its fourth straight YOY sales decline in the US. Chrysler (-7%), Jeep (-9%), Ram (-19%), Dodge (-29%), and Alfa Romeo (-19%) all sold fewer vehicles last year than in 2023.
The first Jeep and Dodge electric vehicles, which were due to arrive at U. S. dealerships by the end of 2024, finally arrived after encountering software issues.
Is Stellantis suffering in the US? Over the summer, former CEO Carlos Tavares told reporters that unprofitable U. S. brands could simply shut down. “If they don’t make money, we’ll shut them down,” he said.
Despite this, Feuell told CNBC a year ago, “Chrysler brand is here to stay. It is being well invested in. The brand is not on the table for elimination, and it has a very bright future.”
Peter Johnson covers the automotive industry’s step-by-step transformation to electric vehicles. He is an experienced investor, enthusiast of money and electric vehicles. His enthusiasm for electric vehicles, primarily Tesla, is one of the main reasons he pursued a career in investing. If he doesn’t tell you about his latest discoveries in the 10K, you can find him enjoying the outdoors or exercising.