Why Is The Chrysler Airflow EV Now On Ice? – CleanTechnica

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Stellantis has not exactly been leading the way on EVs in the USA. It sells almost no electric vehicles. Here’s the most recent ranking of what share of an automotive group’s sales came from EVs in the US:

Yikes! 0.1%. That’s horrible.

Sooner or later things have to turn around, and the latest news is that’s going to be later with Chrysler. After introducing a super cool looking Chrysler Airflow EV concept in 2022, work on the EV went into hyperspeed. Oh, no, sorry, it apparently went nowhere, or at least didn’t go very far. And reporting this week is that the Chrysler Airflow EV has been completely put on ice indefinitely. The line from Stellantis is that the project “is paused for now as we assess the market and our customers’ needs and wants,” Green Car Reports reports.

The Airflow name is a historic name at Chrysler, extending back into the 1930s. It would seem like a bold and positive move to bring out an electric Airflow, and would seemingly signal optimism around EVs at Stellantis and an attempt to do something serious, like with Ford electrifying a new Mustang and the F-150. So, what happened? Why is the Chrysler Airflow EV now on ice?

I think it’s easiest to quickly assume this is all about the incoming president, and I do think that comes into play, but there are a few other things to discuss as well.

Okay, let’s start with the obvious one. Donald Trump (aka “Don the Con” Trump) has been very anti-EV, even with Elon Musk by his side, and seems intent on hurting the US EV market when he gets into office. We’ll see. No one really knows what Donald will do, including Donald himself much of the time, so I think everyone is waiting to see if the US EV tax credit will really be killed, if key pro-EV policies from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be eliminated or changed, and whether Donald will reignite his fight with California over air quality and fuel economy standards. Not having a clue what is actually going to happen with all of those things, it’s definitely hard forecasting what will happen in the US EV market in the next few years. So, unsurprisingly, any auto company working on EVs may want to wait a few weeks and see where things head.

However, it can’t only be about that. Another factor is Stellantis seems to be in a bit of trouble, even leading to CEO Carlos Tavares resigning in recent weeks. Sales are not doing well, including in the US. If the company is trying to get its house in order again and needs to engage in some deep rebuilding, project trimming, and soul searching, it would make sense that any non-urgent projects would be put on hold. Heck, it could even be really bad and Stellantis could be considering pulling some brands out of difficult markets.

Or perhaps it’s just a case that, until new leadership gets in and rearranges the office furniture, anything non-urgent is being put on hold. Who knows?

However, to close, one thing is certain: EVs are getting many more sales, relatively speaking, in premium-class segments. Premium brands are seeing a decent portion of their sales come from electrics — even in the US — and you really need to have good electric cars and SUVs on the market in order to maximize your potential if you’re a premium brand. 20% of Cadillac’s sales are EV sales. 16% of BMW’s sales are EV sales. 12% of Audi sales and 10% of Mercedes sales are pure EV sales.

Chrysler is not the brand it once was. It’s only selling minivans in the US at the moment. But it has the opportunity to grow a lot with the revived Airflow model as a modern, slick EV. Starting from almost nothing, it has the potential to more easily make the transition to EVs among legacy brands. The opportunity seems obvious, and notable, so it’s a bit surprising to see the Airflow EV concept’s project being suspended.

But it probably just comes down to that mixture of issues noted above — broader company challenges, a change of leadership and everything being in limbo, and incoming President Trump campaigning on an anti-EV agenda. Or is there something else I’m missing?