Today on Earth Day Chrysler unveiled 4 all-electric Town and Country minivans that are intended for US Postal Service fleet use. Chrysler also announced it will request a Recovery Act grant to allow it to demonstrate a fleet of such vehicles to be used in mail delivery.
The US postal fleet already has 10,000 standard Chrysler minivans in use.
These new electric minivans do not have gasoline range extender, and are therefore limited to short distance driving. Chrysler has also arranged partnerships with several key utility companies to ensure a proper charging infrastructure is put into place at the post offices where the cars will be used.
According to Chrysler spokesperson Nick Cappa, the vans use a 200 kw electric motor mated to a 30 kw lithium-ion battery pack delivering a 50 mile driving range. The battery pack is a joint effort between Chrysler and A123 Systems.
Source (Chrysler)
