Friday, August 7, 2009

Chrysler To Make Electric Dodge Ram Trucks


The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the recipients of $2.4 billion in advanced battery and electric-drive funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including $70 million for Chrysler to build 220 plug-in hybrid pickup trucks and minivans.

More than 250 companies applied to join the program, seeking about $9.6 billion total in research aid, before the final winners and funding amounts were announced. The projects are expected to accelerate the design, development and production of electric batteries and drive components to help the U.S. become a leader in next-generation vehicles.

"If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future," said President Barack Obama.

GM, Chrysler and Ford will receive a total of more than $400 million to manufacture thousands of advanced hybrid and electric vehicles to demonstrate and validate their use across a variety of applications.

The 220 trucks Chrysler is expected to build will be distributed among 11 fleets nationwide, at a research cost of about $318,000 per vehicle.

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