Shipments of the PowerPhase Pro 135 systems to Zenith Motors are scheduled to begin in June 2013.

“This agreement with Zenith Motors demonstrates the strength of our product variety, giving us the ability to provide the right power and efficiency for a broad customer base,” said Eric R. Ridenour, president and chief executive officer of UQM Technologies, Inc. “Zenith Motors will be using our PowerPhase Pro 135 volume production system, which complements our larger PowerPhase HD systems for heavier commercial vehicle applications.”

The UQM PowerPhase Pro 135 is part of the PowerPhase Pro family of vehicle electrification products and provides a peak torque of 340 Nm, peak power of 135 kilowatt and 60 kilowatt of continuous power.

“After a year of extensive testing, we have selected UQM as the supplier of choice for our vehicles,” said Bill Yung, chief executive officer of Zenith Motors, LLC. “The systems performed well providing the capability, efficiency and reliability that we are looking for in an electric motor and controller system for our shuttle vans.”

Kentucky-based Zenith Motors describes itself as a manufacturer of electric shuttle vans for hospitals, schools, airports, parking facilities and the hospitality industry.

Zenith’s vehicle is based on a Fiat commercial vehicle that will soon be available in North America under Chrysler’s Ram brand as the ProMaster.

Chrysler has announced the ProMaster will be available as a cargo vehicle, but has not yet announced details about the North American availability of a passenger version.

The post Zenith’s Fiat-Based EV To Use UQM Drivetrain appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The state of Oklahoma’s order is the Company’s largest customer order since production of the CNG trucks began in October.

Peter Grady, Vice President of Network Development and Fleet – Chrysler Group LLC, presented the keys to one of the Ram 2500 CNG pickups to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) in Oklahoma City.

The Ram 2500 CNG is the only entirely OEM-built compressed natural gas-powered pickup truck in North America.

ODOT will use the Ram CNG pickups primarily as service trucks on the state’s roads and highways.

Gov. Fallin is leading a bipartisan coalition of 22 states seeking to use more CNG vehicles in their state fleets.

Chrysler said CNG-powered trucks offer cost and emissions benefits, using an abundant, domestically-sourced fuel, which reduces America’s dependence on foreign oil. CNG lessens the environmental impact of greenhouse gas and reduces smog-producing pollutants up to 90 percent.

The governor announced the CNG project at the inaugural Governor’s Energy Conference in 2011. Since then, Gov. Fallin has worked with other state officials and governors, met with automobile manufacturers, including Chrysler Group, and issued and received bids for more affordable CNG vehicles for use in state fleets.

“Chrysler Group is delighted that we can deliver these unique Ram pickup trucks today to Gov. Fallin, a steadfast champion in the use of compressed natural gas vehicles in state fleets,” Grady said. “Through the governor’s tireless efforts to form a coalition of states, 13 Ram Truck dealers have landed contracts with 19 states to supply their fleets with the new Ram 2500 CNG pickup trucks.”

The Ram CNG pickups delivered were purchased by the state of Oklahoma through John Vance Motors, a Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Truck dealership in Guthrie, Okla., north of Oklahoma City.

“Converting the state’s fleet to CNG will save taxpayers millions of dollars in fuel costs,” Gov. Fallin said. “The use of cleaner-burning CNG fuel is good for the environment and promotes Oklahoma-made natural gas which in turn supports the creation of more Oklahoma jobs. Our multi-state bidding process was aimed at encouraging automakers to provide states with more affordable and more functional CNG vehicles. We are very thankful for the team at Chrysler for their help and leadership throughout that process. The state of Oklahoma is excited to add quality CNG trucks to our state fleets from manufacturers like Chrysler.”

The Ram 2500 CNG is a bi-fuel vehicle that uses compressed natural gas as its primary fuel source, but automatically switches to gasoline when the CNG tanks are emptied. In use, the Ram CNG transitions from one fuel to the other with little discernible difference in operation or capability.

“These are heavy-duty trucks and we have highway crews in every county in the state who will put them to work immediately,” said Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley. “I’m grateful that ODOT has the opportunity to work with Governor Fallin and the auto industry to cut costs and improve our operations.”

In vehicles, Chrysler said CNG achieves nearly identical mileage figures as unleaded regular gasoline – with a retail cost more than 50 percent lower than the average price of a gallon of gasoline.

The Ram 2500 CNG system was fully engineered and tested by Chrysler Group and is assembled at the company’s Heavy Duty truck plant in Saltillo, Mexico. Production of the Ram 2500 CNG began in late October in the Saltillo plant.

The post 242 Ram CNG Trucks Heading To Oklahoma DOT appeared first on HybridCars.com.

At the Automotive News Detroit Green Car Conference last week, Paulo Ferrero, Chrysler’s senior vice president for powertrain, might have elaborated on the company’s strategy for electrification—since speakers from Nissan, BMW and Think were talking about their companies’ EV strategies already being implemented. His presentation did include a slide or two on plug-ins, but with no new information other than a commitment to “develop a range of technologies for hybrid/electrification across various platforms.” That’s pretty vague and clearly not a commitment to deliver vehicles on a timeline with the competition.

Ferrero did drop a big surprise: natural gas vehicles! It turns out FIAT has CNG powertrains in a full range of vehicles already in Europe (where government incentives and utility support make them an attractive option) and they might find their way over here—along with multi-air engines and a variety of improvements to gas-powered engines and transmissions promising a 25 percent overall fleet average fuel economy improvement for Chrysler’s fleet by 2014.

The post Chrysler Plans for Hybrids, EVs and Natural Gas Vehicles, Probably appeared first on HybridCars.com.

Sometime in 2010, Dodge will probably unveil the full hybrid version of its big, bold Ram Pickup. Right now, all we know for sure is that it’ll be called the Dodge Ram 1500 Hybrid.

In February 2009, Chrysler’s Roger Benvenuti, manager of communications for Jeep and Dodge Truck, said only, “I can confirm that we will be introducing the Ram 1500 Hybrid in 2010, but we’re not discussing any of the details at this time.”

Unfortunately, that schedule puts Chrysler a good two years behind General Motors, whose Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid pickups began arriving at dealers in February and March 2009.

Timing Is Everything

In January 2008, Chrysler announced it would add a hybrid model to its pickup line. According to that announcement, the upcoming Ram Hybrid will feature the company’s 5.7-liter Hemi V8, with a Multi-Displacement System that shuts off the fuel supply to four of its eight cylinders when only partial power is needed. Redesigned for 2009, the standard Ram pickup is offered with a wide array of engines, cabs, lengths, and strengths. It’s actually Chrysler’s highest-volume vehicle, selling 246,000 trucks in 2008—just handful more than the company’s iconic minivans.

Developing a combined 375 horsepower between the engine and the electric motors, the same hybrid system gave the Dodge Durango Hybrid and Chrysler Aspen Hybrid SUVs—which weighed 5,500 pounds—a towing capacity of 6,000 pounds with EPA mileage ratings of 19/20 miles per gallon (city/highway).

Unfortunately, the company’s continuing sales slump and the global economic crisis combined to kill off Chrysler’s hybrid SUVS right at the time they were first shipped to dealers, with fewer than 1,000 built in total.

It’s the Economy, Stupid

With global vehicle markets down 30 to 40 percent and Chrysler begging for low-interest loan guarantees from the US government, the company was forced to submit a reorganization plan to President Barack Obama’s task force on the auto industry in February 2009.

That plan has been viewed with some skepticism by industry analysts, among them Craig Cather, president and CEO of CSM Worldwide. He told a February meeting of the International Motoring Press Association that he felt the company’s plan made overly optimistic assumptions, and that he believed the company would cease to exist in its current form within a year. So the fate of the Dodge Ram Hybrid depends on macro-economic circumstances outside the company’s control.

Demand for full-size SUVs has all but collapsed, so high-volume full-size pickup trucks are the next frontier for large hybrid vehicles. Between Ford, Chevrolet/GMC, and Dodge, body-on-frame pickups sell 1.5 million units a year, and they’ll soon be subject to steeply higher mileage requirements.

A Hard-Working Hybrid

Unless and until most full-size pickups come with a hybrid system as standard—don’t hold your breath—GM and Chrysler may find it challenging to make the payback obvious enough that it will attract buyers among fleets and commercial owners. They buy the bulk of pickups, to use them as working trucks, and they ruthlessly run the numbers on fleet costs. Much less likely to spend anything on making a green statement, they’ll put out the money if they get it back in gasoline saved.

A year ago, we summarized the defunct Durango Hybrid this way: “This is a powerful, capable, and practical vehicle, especially for work utility—and the gas mileage doesn’t totally suck.” The same will apply to the Ram Hybrid …if Chrysler makes it to 2011, that is.

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