Stellantis American subsidiary Dodge wants to go electric
The Dodge car brand, part of the Stellantis Group these days, is working on its fastest model yet, which media says is a fully electric car. At least six BEV and several plug-in hybrids are rumoured to be launched under brands of the former FCA group.
According to the portal The Detroit Bureau, this refers to statements by several insiders. The Dodge brand has been regarded as a brand for classic American muscle cars up until now.
The electrification plans are entirely new, though. The report considers Stellantis responsible for pushing incoming electric models under old FCA brands. There is talk of “at least six all-electric vehicles currently in the styling studio in Auburn Hills, Michigan”. In addition, there will be “at least one, probably several plug-in hybrids”.
Since Dodge’s fastest model to date, the limited-edition Dodge Challenger Demon, sprints from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds, The Detroit Bureau assumes that the envisaged BEV will be an extremely powerful electric vehicle with even higher acceleration. By comparison, the Tesla Model S Plaid is expected to sprint to 60 mph in two seconds. Already in January, during Stellantis’ founding, a platform called Giorgio, developed for the Alfa Romeo models Giulia and Stelvio was to be adapted by Maserati for pure electric cars with 800-volt architecture and up to three electric motors. At the time, this platform would be used by the DS, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brands in their larger models.
Among the other former FCA brands, Fiat has been in the news lately. The traditional Italian brand is to become an all-electric car brand by 2030. “Between 2025 and 2030, our product range will gradually become purely electric. This will be a radical change for Fiat,” CEO Olivier François announced last week. Currently, the Stellantis brand only offers the Fiat 500 as a pure electric car. In addition, there is the E-Ducato van. Next up could be the Panda as a pure electric vehicle. Fiat has reportedly already decided to put the Centoventi electric study, unveiled in 2019, into production.
Otherwise, the former FCA brand Jeep announced a PHEV version of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. The report states this belongs to the group of at least six new pure BEVs and plug-in hybrids mentioned. In addition, one of the all-electric vehicles is also planned for Jeep, and another for the Ram brand. Further speculation about “a version of the full-size Ram 1500 pickup” was also included but remains unconfirmed.
With reporting by Cora Werwitzke.
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