Jeep News: Jeep Ponders Hybrid Powertrains

[William Maley]

Like every other automaker, Jeep is looking at ways to reduce emissions and increase fuel economy in light of more stringent regulations. One technology the off-road brand is looking at is hybrid technology.

“We are absolutely looking at different things in that field and we are very active behind the scenes in the development of these systems and how it fits into our profile,” said Chrysler’s Asia-Pacific product planning manager, Steve Bartoli, to Drive.com.au.

“With greenhouse gas and regulatory constraints around the world, it is definitely pushing our hand in that way but we haven’t made any decisions on that and we’re not ready to talk about that.”

Bartoli said the brand has concern about hybrid systems, including the reliability of the electric motors and battery range when traveling off the beaten path.

“We always want to make sure a Jeep can get you home. These are very complex and expensive systems, not just for us to develop but also for the consumers. Not only that, but [battery] range is a very important issue and we need to make sure how we can fit that into our systems because you don’t want to be stuck in a creek in an electric Jeep that is going nowhere. It is still a big problem in that regard so we need to understand it a bit more.”

Source: Drive.com.au

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[Drew Dowdell]

Moar diesels please!