Chrysler Minivan EV for the US Postal Service

For those of you who don't know, today is Earth Day in the US, an opportunity for tree huggers to state their point (and watch, for the 100th time "An Inconvenient Truth"), for oil companies to present their environmental programs and for Chrysler to set the basis for a nation wide demonstration fleet for the United States Postal Service (USPS).

“Chrysler and the Postal Service have an established relationship as there are more than 10,000 of our minivans in the Postal Service fleet. The Postal Service is a recognized environmental innovator and leader, and we are excited at the prospect of continuing our relationship by working to deliver alternative energy postal delivery vehicles in the future," Lou Rhodes, ENVI VP said in a release.

As part of the agreement between the two, Chrysler unveiled today four all-electric Chrysler Town and Country minivan concepts. The vehicles, a result of the manufacturer's ENVI group, are specifically targeted for the USPS.

In addition to providing the EVs, Chrysler has signed letters of intent with Duke, ConEd and DTE for the accommodation of US postal; offices with a charging infrastructure for the envisioned program. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) also has signed a letter of intent to provide USPS with integration tools.

“We continue to look for energy-efficient replacement vehicles for our aging fleet as we explore ways to reduce our transportation-related carbon emissions,”Sam Pulcrano USPS vice president added.

In early April, Chrysler and A123Systems formed a strategic alliance for the development of EV batteries. A123Systems will supply energy storage systems for Chrysler’s first-generation ENVI range-extended electric vehicles, as well as for battery-only electric vehicles.