Fuel price crisis forces car giant electric

Car manufacturer Chrysler has unveiled plans to manufacture three new electric vehicles, one of which will be on sale in the US by 2010 and Europe shortly after.

The company has been scaling down production of its gas guzzling vehicles over the last year as high fuel prices hit sales with a 20 per cent drop.

The company is working on electric versions of its Town & Country minivan, four-door Jeep Wrangler SUV and Dodge sports car.

"We didn’t want to spend the time on developing an all-new platform, an all-new car and then an all-new propulsion system," said Tom LaSorda, Chrysler president and vice chairman.

The move will put Chrysler into competition with General Motors (GM) which is manufacturing a Chevrolet Volt to be released in 2010 – though the Volt will be built from scratch.

Chrysler is partnering with Lotus to develop the Dodge sports car, which will have a range from 150 to 200 miles, and retain acceleration of zero to 60 in less than five seconds.

It would plug into a typical 110v electric outlet and its lithium-ion batteries would be recharged in six to eight hours.

Chrysler is working with partners to develop the batteries including supplier A123 systems, which is also working with GM.

Both the Jeep and minivan vehicles would have a range of 400 miles.

The company did not specify which one of the three vehicles would be on sale by 2010 in the US and Europe.