(November 4, 2009) Chrysler held its long-awaited business plan unveiling in Auburn Hills, MI and powertrains played a major part in the program. Paolo Ferraro, Senior VP for powertrain development highlighted the need to update Chrysler's powertrain lineup in order to improve customer satisfaction and fuel efficiency.

Going forward, the responsibility for powertrains will be split between Chrysler and Fiat with North American taking the lead on cost efficient gasoline engines, larger gasoline engines and hybrid and electric technologies. Fiat will be responsible for smaller high efficiency engines, diesels, alternative fuels such as natural gas and propane and dual clutch transmissions.

The number one goal of the new Chrysler will be best in class efficiency across the board. Electrification and hybridization will be paired up with technologies like boosting and downsizing in the near term. Once costs are driven down, electrification will spread to mainstream applications.

In Europe, Fiat's overall lineup ranks among the most efficient along with PSA-Peugeot-Citroen thanks in large part to its diesel heavy lineup. Ferraro highlighted the fact that Fiat actually invented the common rail injection system for diesels, a technology that has been almost universally adopted among modern compression engines. Common rail injection has been critical to the development of modern clean diesel engines. Ferraro noted that Chrysler and Fiat will be working to reinforce the "Clean diesel image."

Most Chrysler products currently sold in Europe are offered with diesel engines sourced mostly from Daimler, Volkswagen and VM Motori. Fiat plans to transition those applications to its own power-plants. Prior to the demise of DaimlerChrysler in 2007, Chrysler had plans to add Daimler diesel engines to several of its US vehicles. However, the rise in diesel fuel prices and the Daimler separation scuttled most of those plans. Ferraro indicated that Fiat intends to add after-treatment systems to its diesel engines to make them comply with 2015 US and EU emissions standards. In conjunction with that compliance diesels will be introduced in US Chrysler products, but Ferraro did not give any timing or specific products. Ferraro did project that US diesel share would climb from the current 9% to 14% by 2014.

On the gasoline side, Fiat plans to start adding some of its technology to Chrysler engines along with introducing some of its smaller engines. Ferraro strongly praised Chrysler's new Pentastar V6 that debuts in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee along with the HEMI V8. The Pentastar engine is dual overhead cam engine with direct fuel injection. Fiat wants to enhance it further by adding its Multiair technology.

Multiair is an electro-hydraulic valve lift system for the intake valves. It allows complete control of the intake valve opening so that the engine can be operated without a throttle improving its efficiency. Further out, Chrysler will also get higher performance versions of the Pentastar including single and twin turbocharged versions that could replace V8 engines in some applications much as Ford as doing with its EcoBoost engines.

The Multiair technology will also be added to the four cylinder world engine used in many of Chrysler's current products. These engines will pick up direct injection in the next few years. One of the advantages of Multiair is that it can be easily retro-fitted to existing engines.

Fiat itself will be the center of excellence for small gas engines. The first of those engines will be the 1.4-liter Multiair four cylinder that will debut in the fourth quarter of 2010 in North America.

Engines are only one part of the powertrain equation. Transmissions also play a big part. The current four cylinder automatics that are still used in a number of Chrysler products will be phased out and 6-speed availability will be increased. In 2007 Chrysler announced plans for a joint venture with Getrag to produce dual clutch transmissions. That deal fell apart in late 2008 as Getrag failed to raise financing for its share of the venture and Chrysler approached bankruptcy. Ferraro announced that Chrysler would begin rolling out Fiat's C635 dry dual clutch transmission.

Increasing hybridization and eventually electrification will also be part of the product plan. 2010 will see the relaunch of the two-mode hybrid system when it debuts in the full-size Ram pick-up truck. In the fourth quarter of 2010, Fiat will add an automatic start-stop system to the European market Jeep Wrangler diesel. Ferraro declined to give timing of when the system would launch in the US market but it will eventually arrive.

Earlier this year, Green Fuels Forecast spoke with Lou Rhodes, president of Chrysler's ENVI division about the company's electric vehicle programs. At that time the company was planning to launch an electric drive vehicle in 2010 which was expected to be the Dodge Circuit sports car (based on the Lotus Europa). That car now appears to be out of the picture.

Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa tells GFF that ENVI has been absorbed back into the main product development group with Rhodes still leading the electrification efforts. Chrysler's Bob Lee is leading the electric powertrain development group.

Ferraro's timeline showed a plug-in hybrid demonstration fleet in 2011 with the Town and Country minivan and Ram being shown. According to Cappa, the Ram is a plug-in version of the Two-Mode hybrid that debuts in 2010. Details about the mini-van's powertrain have not yet been revealed although Chrysler has been testing a extended range electric powertrain similar to the Chevrolet Volt in the mini-vans. The PHEV test fleet consisting of several hundred vehicles is being built in conjunction with the US Department of Energy.

A pure battery electric vehicle is also now shown debuting in the 2011-12 time-frame and while the Fiat Doblo compact van was displayed, no final decision has been made on the platform. Additional BEVs will start arriving toward mid-decade with volumes rising based on market conditions. The cost of batteries is likely to play a big part in product decisions in this segment. Initially at least Chrysler plans to focus on fleet sales for its electric products because they don't need a longer range.

No decision has been made yet on retail commercialization which is not expected until at least mid-decade.

Overall, Ferraro's projections show a big shift in the market penetration of various powertrains for Chrysler. Four cylinder engines are projected to double from 19% of sales in 2010 to 38% by 2014. Meanwhile big V8 and V6 engines will shrink from 18% and 54% to 10% and 38% respectively. At this point electric drive is only likely to account for about 1-2% of sales through mid-decade.