Chrysler unveils a new electric minivan (updated)

Chrysler brought out a new electric minivan today – their first since the 1990s, and like the original TEVan and EPIC, designed to be sold to fleets. Many of the original Chrysler electric minivans were eventually auctioned or sold to individuals and some are still on the road today.

Today, Chrysler showed off four all-electric Chrysler Town & Country minivan concepts to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

Chrysler said it would apply to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) Transportation Electrification stimulus program to support a demonstration fleet of 250 zero-emission electric minivans for mail delivery. Duke, ConEd and DTE have each signed a letter of intent to equip post offices in selected regions with a charging infrastructure. 

The power industry has endorsed electric vehicles for many years; since the charging cycle (charging at night) is complementary to peak power usage, greater use of electric vehicles would make power usage more uniform and increase utilization of expensive power plants.  With greater off-peak power use, utilities could justify the creation of additional plants, and reduce the need for relatively expensive and inefficient peaking plants.