This hot little news number broke over the weekend. Apparently, Fiat has decided to disband the ENVI group over at Chrysler in order to focus on more pertinent product developments.

The ENVI group, started back under Cerberus in late 2007, was Chrysler’s response to GM’s Volt and to public outrage that Chrysler was the only large automaker not offering a hybrid (read: image conscious) vehicle.

The ENVI group – short for ‘Environment’ – was billed as nothing less than Chrysler’s moon shot for EV legitimacy. During a big, flashy news conference, Chrysler/ Cerberus announced the advanced propulsion division by showing a concept Dodge EV, Jeep Wrangler EV and a Chrysler Town & Country EV.

By early 2009, the Dodge EV had a nameplate (Circuit) and looked like it was going to be the first ENVI to go into production.

The Dodge Circuit married all the great automotive business concepts of the modern era; it was simply a lightweight Lotus Europa with Chrysler’s electric propulsion unit attached to it. Most of that EV drivetrain/battery pack was actually developed by A123 Systems. So Chrysler was to act essentially as sales distributor and marketing channel for someone else’s baby.

Chrysler proclaimed it would become leader in the EV movement, uncannily promising some 500,000 battery-powered vehicles on the road by 2013.

But it looks like Fiat came in, saw how mismanaged Chrysler’s R&D structure was, and decided to get rid of the superfluous. According to the government’s own viability plan, Chrysler was only dedicating 50% as many engineers to each platform, on average, as GM and Ford were. ENVI had dedicated engineers, but Fiat has decided their talents can be used elsewhere; integrating Fiat’s multiair 4-cylinders, diesels and dual-clutch transmissions is my bet for how they’ll be used.

So, is that the end of EV in the short-term at Chrysler? During Chrysler’s 5 year plan presentation, there was a slide showing the Chrysler Town & Country and RAM plug-in hybrid, and they’ll probably not stop those – considering that the Department of Energy is footing the bill ($70 million). Also, an all-electric commercial van, probably the Fiat Doblò that was pictured, should show up in Q4 2011 as a RAM.

Outside of that, Fiat looks like they’re grounding Chrysler’s future in a reality. To be honest, I’d like Cerberus’ techno-colored, novocaine dream world a bit more.

Source: Reuters

Filed under: Industry News