Sneaky

Check out this article and accompanying videos about Chrysler's trio of new EV and NEV vehicles. I have to say the more I think about this announcement the more impressed I am, they have really stolen some of the thunder from Chevy's Volt. If Chrysler's claim that a four door Jeep or a six passenger minivan has the same electric only range of the Volt (40 miles) then what does that mean for the Volt? The Volt is basically an overgrown four passenger hatchback, how could it compete with either of the larger Chrysler vehicles? Especially if the Volt is as expensive or MORE expensive than either of the Chrysler cars.

Here's my questions.

• How close are these models to production? Two of them are based on existing platforms meaning that only the powertrains need to be completely tested in order for them to be road ready. Chrysler should be able to have these on the road well before the Volt.
• How much more expensive than their ICE only counterparts will these be? That much battery power is not cheap...my guess is that you're talking about a $10,000 price premium over a "standard" minivan or Jeep. Is that too much? At $4/gallon it would take the average driver (driving less than 40 miles per day) about four years to recoup the price difference. That's not taking into account the cost of replacing batteries or declining range, etc. so that may not make either of these worth it unless you factor in the positive environmental aspect and the smug factor....or potential tax deduction.
  
• How much heavier will they be? Sure the batteries are low-slung so the weight won't effect handling too badly but adding the weight has to make them slower. Is reducing the size of the ICE cutting enough weight to offset the battery weight?
• How much for the all-electric Dodge? If you can get that thing on the road for $60-70k then it would put Tesla out of business over night with their $100K+ price tag. Maybe this is why Tesla is working so hard on their next models...they knew this surprise was coming.