Forget V8 sedans, Chrysler’s future is an electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz rival

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Forget V8 sedans, Chrysler’s future is an electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz rival

The Chrysler brand shut up shop in Australia (again) in 2021, and survives elsewhere with just a people mover. It’ll soon get another product, though… but it’ll be another people mover.

Chrysler CEO Christine Feuell told

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the Pacifica people mover, which is currently offered with petrol or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power, will be joined by a new electric people mover also called Pacifica.

Ms Feuell confirmed the current Pacifica, which entered production in 2016, will receive a refresh in 2026. This vehicle is currently produced only in left-hand drive.

The electric Pacifica is set to follow a year later, with the presence of a bulky battery not expected to impact practicality.

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.

Camera IconChrysler Halcyon concept Credit: CarExpert

The Chrysler CEO said a final interior configuration hadn’t been locked in, but she said one potential option could see the front seats tip forward to reveal a cargo space in which to store the second row, while another could see the outboard second-row seats slide sideways.

Chrysler is currently discussing options with suppliers.

The current Pacifica offers Stow ‘n Go seating, with the third row of seating stowing into the floor. In petrol models, the second row can also be stowed under the floor.

Ms Feuell said future Chryslers will take their design direction not from the 2020 Airflow concept but rather from this year’s

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, with “modern” and “futuristic” styling.

It’s unclear if the current Pacifica’s PHEV option will continue following the launch of the Pacifica EV.

Camera IconChrysler Pacifica PHEV Credit: CarExpert

The Pacifica could use Chrysler parent Stellantis’ new ‘multi-energy’ STLA Large platform, underpinning various upcoming models such as the Dodge Charger Daytona muscle car and Jeep Recon off-roader, which can support combustion, hybrid and electric power.

Chrysler is currently running out

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stock in markets like North America, which will leave it with effectively one model. In addition to the Pacifica, it has the Voyager but this is just a pre-facelift version of the former.

It’s unclear what, if anything, Chrysler has in store besides the Pacifica EV.

It revealed the Halcyon concept earlier this year, but this is a rather fanciful concept.

Camera IconChrysler Airflow concept Credit: CarExpert

The earlier Airflow concept appeared far more production-ready, but

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reported last year that Ms Feuell – shortly after becoming Chrysler’s CEO – sent designers back to the drawing board to

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.

“We have a really healthy cadence of new-product development and launches starting with the battery electric vehicle launching in 2025,” Ms Feuell told

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earlier this year.

“We’ll have a Pacifica refresh coming, and then some more new vehicles launching in quick succession after that.”

Beyond the refreshed Pacifica, new Pacifica EV, and an SUV, it’s unclear just what else Chrysler has planned.

Camera IconChrysler Voyager Credit: CarExpert

Earlier this year, Stellantis National Dealer Council chairman Kevin Farrish wrote an open letter to outgoing Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares

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of being complicit in the “rapid degradation of our iconic brands”.

The lack of product has also led to Frank B. Rhodes Jr., the great grandson of company founder Walter P. Chrysler, pitching the idea earlier this year of

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from parent company Stellantis.

Chrysler doesn’t have any standalone dealerships, with its vehicles sold alongside models from other brands such as Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

That allowed former parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to pare the marque’s lineup down considerably, and under Stellantis it hasn’t grown back yet despite Mr Tavares

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a “time window of 10 years and funding for 10 years to do a core model strategy”.

Camera IconLancia Thema Credit: CarExpertCamera IconChrysler Ypsilon Credit: CarExpert

He said earlier this year that “decisions” will be made in two to three years, which could actually be after he retires in early 2026.

For now, with the same basic people mover under two different nameplates, the North ********* Chrysler lineup is the smallest it has been since the early 1970s.

It’s not the only single-model lineup within the Stellantis stable however, with Lancia until recently having just one model in one market: the Ypsilon hatchback in Italy. Under its investment plan, it has received a

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, with two more models to follow.

Under FCA ownership, Chrysler and Lancia were thrust together for a time in the early 2010s, with the Lancia Ypsilon and Delta wearing Chrysler badging in the *** and the Chrysler 200, 300 and Town & Country being sold as the Lancia Flavia, Thema and Voyager in Europe.

None of these models were particularly successful, and the ‘twinning’ of the two brands was dropped.

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#Forget #sedans #Chryslers #future #electric #Volkswagen #Buzz #rival

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