At $1 Million per vehicle, the DOE should reject it outright 
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - May 27, 2009
Chrysler Town and Country BEV – Cost, range and anything else related are simply press releases... So far.
Chrysler including all of its legacy baggage submitted three proposals totaling $448 million for two Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives aimed at rapid vehicle electrification — The Transportation Electrification Initiative and Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative.
This is Chrysler’s last ditch effort to reduce electrification development costs by asking the DOE to foot the bill in a 50/50 cost-share scheme under the guise of technological innovation and reduced energy independence.
The proposal will include a Dodge Ram 1500 PHEV, Chrysler Town & Country PHEVs and Chrysler Town & Country Electric Vehicles BEV.
“These initiatives represent how government and the automotive industry are answering the challenge of reaching common goals and demonstrate how rapidly this type of advanced technology can be brought to market in a collaborative environment,” said John Bozzella, Senior Vice President—External Affairs and Public Policy, Chrysler LLC. “Without U.S. innovation and production capacity, we will simply trade batteries for oil in the pursuit of transportation energy.”
If approved, Chrysler plans to use the funds to build a demonstration fleet of PHEVs and BEVs, as well as create a new-vehicle electrification technology and manufacturing center located in Michigan. The proposal will enable the production of commercially viable products in a shorter time frame. Combined, Chrysler proposal will stimulate the economy and help the company achieve its leadership goals in electrified-vehicle development and production.
Transportation Electrification Initiative
Chrysler’s $365-million submission for the Transportation Electrification Initiative intends to establish a nationwide demonstration fleet of more than 365 test-fleet vehicles. This proposal comes out to approximately $1,000,000 per vehicle!!!
The Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Ram 1500 are popular models in their respective segments and as PHEVs, they could achieve substantial greenhouse-gas reductions but at a cost that is far beyond any reasonable persons idea of cost to benefit ratio.
The Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative
Within the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative, Chrysler plans to use as much as $83 million to build a new vehicle electrification technology and manufacturing center in Michigan. This new facility would house development, testing and electric-drive component manufacturing in addition to final assembly of EVs and Range-extended Electric Vehicles (ReEVs). The complex would be functional by 2010 and produce more than 20,000 units per year.
"These proposals present a win-win situation for Chrysler and, most importantly, our customers," said Frank Klegon—Executive Vice President, Product Development, Chrysler LLC. "This plan will accelerate our efforts to develop and manufacture electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles, which will reduce the amount of time it will take to get these vehicles on the road.”
Last month, ENVI, Chrysler in-house electric vehicle organization, made multiple announcements aimed at accelerating the market introduction of electric-drive vehicles. The company created a lithium-ion battery production partnership with U.S. based A123Systems and facilitated a new lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Southeastern Michigan—a joint program with A123Systems and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Linear Mode
