2012 Chrysler Town & Country Touring on 2040-cars

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Chrysler minivans spied in group test

The 2017 Chrysler Town & Country is just a few weeks from its debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, and the company continues to evaluate its new minivan. A massive batch of spy shots now shows a whole fleet of them testing, along with the current model and competitors like the Honda Odyssey and Kia Sedona. Several of these examples drop the heavy cladding from earlier prototypes. Compared to today's model, the new Town & Country gets a major styling upgrade. These shots provide another glimpse at the updated front end with its narrow mesh grille and Chrysler 200-like headlights. The swirling camouflage along the side can't hide the more sculpted shape, including a character line that slices through the door handles. Three of the photos also provide a glance at the instrument panel, including the display between the gauges. In this case, it shows the tire pressures, and there's a digital speedometer on top. Rumors suggest at least two powertrains for the new Town & Country: an all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid version or one with a 3.2-liter V6. The van should also offer plenty of connectivity, with reports of USB ports for each row of seats and optional foot-activated side doors. Related Video:

Chrysler Town & Country plug-in hybrid minivan coming in 2015

Among the multitude of models that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced as part of its five-year production plan in May was a plug-in hybrid version of the Town & Country minivan for sometime in 2016. However, according to the latest pronouncement from company CEO Sergio Marchionne, that timetable may have been moved forward quite a bit.
Marchionne told Automotive News at the Paris Motor Show that the PHEV minivan would now be launching in late 2015. That strategy does seem a bit confusing, though, because the next-gen platform for the T&C isn't supposed to hit the road until sometime in 2016, according to the plan. So it's not clear whether the boss means the PHEV rides on the current chassis or if the new model is going on sale early.
The technology underpinning the new plug-in hybrid has been shrouded in mystery. However, during the five-year plan meeting, FCA claimed the model could earn fuel economy figures around 75 mpge. Chrysler previously tested a 25-unit fleet of them as part of a demonstration test in Auburn Hills, MI, in 2012, but that didn't go so well.

Stellantis lays off salaried workers, cites uncertainty in EV transition

DETROIT — Jeep maker Stellantis is laying off about 400 white-collar workers in the U.S. as it deals with the transition from combustion engines to electric vehicles. The company formed in the 2021 merger between PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler said the workers are mainly in engineering, technology and software at the headquarters and technical center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, north of Detroit. Affected workers were notified starting Friday morning. “As the auto industry continues to face unprecedented uncertainties and heightened competitive pressures around the world, Stellantis continues to make the appropriate structural decisions across the enterprise to improve efficiency and optimize our cost structure,” the company said in a prepared statement Friday. The cuts, effective March 31, amount to about 2% of Stellantis' U.S. workforce in engineering, technology and software, the statement said. Workers will get a separation package and transition help, the company said. “While we understand this is difficult news, these actions will better align resources while preserving the critical skills needed to protect our competitive advantage as we remain laser focused on implementing our EV product offensive,” the statement said. CEO Carlos Tavares repeatedly has said that electric vehicles cost 40% more to make than those that run on gasoline, and that the company will have to cut costs to make EVs affordable for the middle class. He has said the company is continually looking for ways to be more efficient. U.S. electric vehicle sales grew 47% last year to a record 1.19 million as EV market share rose from 5.8% in 2022 to 7.6%. But sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%. Stellantis plans to launch 18 new electric vehicles this year, eight of those in North America, increasing its global EV offerings by 60%. But Tavares told reporters during earnings calls last month that “the job is not done” until prices on electric vehicles come down to the level of combustion engines — something that Chinese manufacturers are already able to achieve through lower labor costs. “The Chinese offensive is possibly the biggest risk that companies like Tesla and ourselves are facing right now,Â’Â’ Tavares told reporters. “We have to work very, very hard to make sure that we bring out consumers better offerings than the Chinese.