The Chrysler Group announced this morning that it will engineer and develop a pure electric version of the Fiat 500 for the U.S. market. The development work for the 500 electric, which the company says will be produced beginning in 2012, will take place entirely in Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI.
At this point, the company is only will to reveal that the production 500 electric will carry a lithium ion battery and a "high power electric powertrain module" and that it will be priced in line with "similar electric vehicles in the market," whatever that might mean exactly.
The car pictured above is the concept 500 battery-electric vehicle that the company unveiled at this year's Detroit Auto Show. There's no telling whether the production version would wear the same sporty get-up. It was this show car that Fiat majordomo, Sergio Marchionne, showed off to a visiting Nancy Pelosi during press-preview days at the show, before luring her over to the red-hot Ferrari 599 parked next door.
The 500 electric will join a growing number of electric vehicles planned for the next few years including the Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus Electric.
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