Chrysler’s electric crossover may be a pipe dream after all

If you are waiting on an EV from Chrysler, you’ll have to wait a little longer. The company is adjusting plans. Chrysler’s long-awaited electric crossover is officially on hold after an email leaked notifying suppliers of the changes. Here’s what to expect now.

Why is Chrysler’s electric crossover delayed again?

Despite announcing plans to have an all-electric lineup by 2028, Chrysler has yet to release a single EV. Now, it looks like it will be here even later than expected.

After an internal Stellantis email leaked last week, first reported by MoparInsiders, Chrysler confirmed it’s pausing its electric crossover. The email sent to suppliers said the program “has been put on hold until further notice.”

Chrysler’s electric crossover was initially scheduled to debut later this year, but the launch date has been pushed back.

At the 2023 Reuters Events Automotive USA Conference, Chrysler CEO Chris Feuell said the brand’s first EV will be a two-row crossover in 2025.

The electric crossover was expected to be an evolution of the Airflow concept from 2022. However, Stellantis’ head designer, Ralph Gilles, who oversees Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Maserati, said the EV was “evolving in a new direction” in November 2023.

Inspired by the Airflow, Chrysler’s electric crossover was supposed to be powered by the STLA Large platform, which also underpins the new Jeep Wagoneer S and Dodge Charger Daytona EVs.

The Airflow was based on Chrysler’s RU platform, used for the Pacifica Hybrid, but the company said the EV platform would offer more capabilities.

Chrysler revealed its new vision with the radical Haylcyon concept show last year. Earlier this year, a brand spokesperson confirmed to Car and Driver that “Chrysler brand CEO Chris Feuell has said that we are working to develop a production version of the Chrysler Halcyon concept at some point in the future.” However, no launch date was confirmed.

Electrek’s Take

Chrysler’s electric crossover being put on hold is the latest in a series of setbacks for Stellantis EV ambitions in the US.

Stellantis sales fell another 15% in the US last year, marking its fourth straight YOY sales decline in the US. Chrysler (-7%), Jeep (-9%), Ram (-19%), Dodge (-29%), and Alfa Romeo (-19%) all sold fewer vehicles last year than in 2023.

The first Jeep and Dodge EVs, which were expected to hit US dealerships by the end of 2024, are finally arriving after encountering software issues.

Is Stellantis in trouble in the US? Over the summer, former CEO Carlos Tavares told reporters that unprofitable US brands could be shut down. “If they don’t make money, we’ll shut them down,” he said.

Despite this, Feuell told CNBC a year ago, “Chrysler brand is here to stay. It is being well invested in. The brand is not on the table for elimination, and it has a very bright future.”