All-electric Fiat 500EV to hit U.S. in 2012

Chrysler first showed this baby off at the Detroit Auto Show this year. Today, we received word that an all-electric version of the Fiat 500 platform should be available in only a couple years. How exciting!

Technical specifications are slim at the moment, but rumor has the powerplant being a sum of a lithium-ion battery, an electric powertrain, and an EV control unit for power flow management. These things will be cranked out of the Chrysler plant in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Couple of high points from the press release:

  • Zero-emission Fiat 500EV provides an environmentally friendly, clean, quiet driving experience freeing customers from escalating fuel costs and costly oil changes
  • PHEV technology to improve fuel economy up to 65 percent with up to 20 mile electric-only driving range

No word on pricing of the vehicle either, other than the standard, “Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but will be competitive with similar electric vehicles in the market.” Looking at its closest competitor, the Nissan Leaf, we can probably expect the price to hover somewhere around $30,000.

The rest of the press release talks about how Chrysler’s original plans to bring out a Ram hybrid in 2011, but had to bury that project. However, the DoE will be giving Chrysler $48 million to revitalize the project. So keep an eye out for prototypes of those in the next three years.

You can check out a photo gallery of the upcoming vehicle here.

via [AutoBlog]