Chrysler Pacifica On Its Way To Getting A Fully-Electric Makeover?

Dec 10, 2016 06:45 AM EST | Joanne Zamora

Although Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) CEO Sergio Marchionne said in June that he doesn't see electrification as the "solution for all of man's ills," he wants to experiment more on it. In fact, reports suggest that the company plans to reveal a fully-electric vehicle based on the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

The automaker is already selling a plug-in hybrid version of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. The Pacifica is also the model that FCA and Google have been using to jointly develop self-driving vehicles.

According to Automotive News, the sources, who asked not to be named because the plans are private, said that the carmaker will showcase the electric Chrysler Pacifica at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas next month. FCA plans to step in with the industry's shift toward electric vehicles and is also working on an electric Maserati sportscar, targeting to compete with Tesla models, they added.

Chrysler has not commented on the reports of the electric Chrysler Pacifica. CEO Marchionne has been reluctant to invest in electric cars because he doesn't think it would be profitable for a number of years, but car manufacturers are being prompted to develop electric cars to be able to meet certain emissions policies.

FCA was the first major car manufacturer to make a deal with Google in developing self-driving or autonomous vehicles, but with $6.9 billion in net industrial debt at the end of 2016's third quarter, its resources to invest are limited compared to its main competitors.

Ford Motor Co. said it will lobby U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to be less strict with U.S. fuel-economy rules which it said hurt profits by coercing automakers to manufacture more electric and hybrid cars than customers demand. The company plans to invest $4.5 billion by 2020 in electric vehicles, according to Bloomberg.

Fiat Chrysler announced this Thursday that it plans to showcase a new model at CES instead of Detroit's North American International Auto Show. CES has been a very important show for carmakers that tend to debut high-tech electric car models, one of which could be an electric Chrysler Pacifica next year.

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