2022 Chrysler Pacifica Limited on 2040-cars

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Chrysler will debut a fully electric Pacifica at CES

Fiat Chrysler Automotive will debut a fully electric version of its Pacifica minivan at CES, according to a report from Bloomberg citing "people familiar with the plans." There's already a plug-in hybrid Pacifica model with a battery large enough to allow for an all-electric range of 30 miles. It's unclear if it's this electric version of FCA's minivan that will be the basis of the self-driving vehicle the automaker will provide to Google. Bloomberg's report also suggests that FCA has an electric vehicle in the works for the Maserati brand. This Tesla-fighting vehicle has been rumored for some time, with previous reports pointing for a debut in 2020. In other words, we don't expect to see an electric Maserati at CES, but we'd love to be surprised. And we'll know soon enough – CES starts in less than month. Stay tuned. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Stellantis invests more than $100 million in California lithium project

Stellantis said it would invest more than $100 million in California's Controlled Thermal Resources, its latest bet on the direct lithium extraction (DLE) sector amid the global hunt for new sources of the electric vehicle battery metal. The investment by the Chrysler and Jeep parent announced on Thursday comes as the green energy transition and U.S. Inflation Reduction Act have fueled concerns that supplies of lithium and other materials may fall short of strong demand forecasts. DLE technologies vary, but each aims to mechanically filter lithium from salty brine deposits and thus avoid the need for open pit mines or large evaporation ponds, the two most common but environmentally challenging ways to extract the battery metal. Stellantis, which has said half of its fleet will be electric by 2030, also agreed to nearly triple the amount of lithium it will buy from Controlled Thermal, boosting a previous order to 65,000 metric tons annually for at least 10 years, starting in 2027. "This is a significant investment and goes a long way toward developing this key project," Controlled Thermal CEO Rod Colwell said in an interview. The company plans to spend more than $1 billion to separate lithium from superhot geothermal brines extracted from beneath California's Salton Sea after flashing steam off those brines to spin turbines that will produce electricity starting next year. That renewable power is expected to cut the amount of carbon emitted during lithium production. Rival Berkshire Hathaway has struggled to produce lithium from the same area given large concentrations of silica in the brine that can form glass when cooled, clogging pipes. Colwell said a $65 million facility recently installed by Controlled Thermal can remove that silica and other unwanted metals. DLE equipment licensed from Koch Industries would then remove the lithium. "We're very happy with the equipment," he said. "We're going to deliver. There's just no doubt about it." Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares called the Controlled Thermal partnership "an important step in our care for our customers and our planet as we work to provide clean, safe and affordable mobility." Both companies declined to provide the specific investment amount. Controlled Thermal aims to obtain final permits by October and start construction of a commercial lithium plant soon thereafter, Colwell said. Goldman Sachs is leading the search for additional debt and equity financing, he added.

FCA eliminates just under 2,000 supplemental contract workers due to coronavirus constraints

Car companies have jumped in quickly to help combat coronavirus. They’re even beginning to manufacture some of the badly needed medical supplies, like ventilators and masks. However, with stay-at-home orders sweeping across the nation and folks practicing social distancing, automotive sales and manufacturing have quickly dried up in North America. That leads us to todayÂ’s news coming out of FCA. A company spokesperson told us that approximately 2,000 supplemental workers (a subcategory of the companyÂ’s many contract workers) are being laid off. HereÂ’s the official statement from FCA: “In light of the challenges created by the COVID 19 situation, and the various ‘stay at homeÂ’ orders from multiple states, a number of development projects within FCA have been temporarily put on hold. "As a result of this, subcontract companies who were providing external support to a number of these projects have been asked to temporarily suspend their activities as we reprioritize certain initiatives and projects. We will continue to monitor the situation with the intent to return to normal activity as soon as the situation allows.” FCA made it clear in our communications with the company that it is not terminating all contract workers, nor is it terminating any employees of the company itself. The rationale here is that certain development work is on pause, so those who were contracted to be a part of that work are now out. We're told that those workers are in white-collar functions, not manufacturing jobs. We asked FCA if it had plans to reinstate all of the affected workers once the coronavirus crisis has passed, but received no commitment either way. “At this point weÂ’re going to continue to monitor the situation,” a company spokesperson told us. Questions still remain when it comes to the stimulus package moving through Congress right now as it pertains to the automotive industry. FCA says itÂ’s currently studying the bill, but hasnÂ’t offered up a comment on the situation yet. We havenÂ’t heard of any similar cuts happening at Ford or GM yet, but now that FCA has made a move, weÂ’ll be on the lookout for more. Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Chrysler Fiat coronavirus