Chrysler to Build Hybrid 300 Model With 8-Speed Automatic Transmission in 2013

2011 Chrysler 300










Chrysler Group plans to offer a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Chrysler 300 sedan in 2013, CEO Sergio Marchionne said.

"We will offer a hybrid variant of the 300 equipped with an eight-speed automatic in 2013," he said last week at the Detroit auto show.

The 300 hybrid indicates hybrids are back in favor at Chrysler. Since Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy in June 2009 under Fiat management, it scaled down an ambitious hybrid strategy conceived under previous owners DaimlerChrysler and Cerberus Capital Management.

A hybrid first was planned for the Dodge Ram pickup, but the plan was abandoned.

In 2008, Chrysler built hybrid versions of the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango hybrid SUVs. The company sold minuscule volumes before stopping production in late 2008.




Source: Automotive News