The American Brand Is Currently A Minivan Maker
It’s been over a year since the production of the Chrysler 300 halted at the end of 2023. Since then, the American marque has become a minivan maker, which is anti-climactic for a storied brand with 100 years of history behind it. In fact, in its centenary celebration, Chrysler rolled out a commemorative package for the Pacifica minivan in the form of stickers.
Needless to say, Chrysler has been stagnant for quite some time, but its CEO isn’t worried about that, with a plan already in place. More importantly, Stellantis’ design boss, Ralph Gilles (known for his work on the Dodge Viper and the Chrysler 300), is pretty optimistic about the brand’s revival, which involves a low-slung model.
Chrysler
Gilles: Chrysler Is “Back On”
Speaking to Road & Track, Gilles shared that things are looking up and that they “are back on with Chrysler.” While that was vague, he said that a dedicated design studio has already been in place since late 2023, contrasting with its previous setup, where it shared a studio with Dodge. The company now also has separate product planning and marketing teams, showing the brand’s commitment to being back on its feet.
The center of Chrysler’s revival is, of course, the Halcyon Concept – the four-door futuristic EV design study that debuted last year, equipped with one of the coolest doors we’ve seen in a car. It won’t become a single production vehicle, though; it is the basis or inspiration Chrysler’s future models, including a possible 300 revival.
“The Halcyon was a cauldron of concepts, cauldron of ideas — many, many, many ideas on that car. I could list 50 different things that are all ideas that will go forward into different vehicles,” Gilles told R&T.
Chrysler
Lower Vehicles For Better Efficiency
There isn’t any concrete launch for Chrysler in the pipeline. However, CEO Christine Fuell confirmed that a crossover will be the first to arrive, and unsurprisingly so. In as much as sleek machines are more pleasing to the eyes of enthusiasts, SUVs are just popular among those who will spend cash on cars. Gilles stopped short of providing concrete details about Chrysler’s upcoming offering, except for some new features such as a glass roof system, active aerodynamics, augmented reality head-up display (AR HUD), hidden tech stack with a “tech detox” or “go-away” feature, new Stow ‘N Go stacking system, and a revamped Chrysler badge.
But perhaps more importantly, Gilles confirmed that the automaker isn’t sticking with the SUV strategy, saying lower vehicles are being considered due to their efficiency. Given that efficiency is quite important for EVs, it’s almost guaranteed that a low-slung model is coming for Chrysler in the future.
“For battery-electric cars, they do a good job for vehicle demand energy, so that’s all I can say. We have a lot of different form factors we can look at,” Gilles told the publication.
Chrysler
The Advantage Of Flexible STLA Platforms
Gilles didn’t provide insights regarding the propulsion of future Chrysler products, but we have a good idea about that. Stellantis, Chrysler’s parent company, already rolled out new STLA platforms a few years ago, which are already being used by cars on the road, such as the Dodge Charger Daytona EV.
The great thing about the STLA platforms is their flexibility, since they can be fully electric, gas-powered, or hybrid. We expect Chrysler to utilize this, as do the rest of the vehicles under Stellantis.
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