Steve Horn's News Articles

Reuters recently reported that Chrysler's new foreign owner, Fiat, has disbanded its "Envi" environmental division "dedicated to rushing a range of electric vehicles to showrooms." This "marks a major reversal for Chrysler, which had used its  as part of the case for a $12.5 billion federal aid package."

Indeed, a pledge to become more innovative and make electric cars more readily available to consumers was a major part of the case for taxpayer assistance that then-CEO Robert Nardelli made to the US House Committee on Financial Services in his testimony on behalf of Chrysler on November 18, 2008 and December 4, 2008. For example, in his December statement, Nardelli said, ". . . we expect that 500,000 Chrysler electric-drive vehicles will be on the road by 2013." And, in a December 15, 2008 interview with CNN Money, Lou Rhodes, Chrysler's Vice President for Advanced Vehicle Engineering, insisted that "electric cars aren't just a side-show or a public relations move for Chrysler, but a major strategic move."