Chrysler and Jeep Planning Medium-Sized EVs with Class-Leading 435 Mile Range

Stellantis has revealed its STLA Medium EV platform. Although it is not revealing specific models, the automaker is saying that the new platform will provide the basis for C and D size EV models for all of its global brands including Jeep and Chrysler.  One of the most exciting things in the announcement is that the medium size EV platform will give models class-leading range of more than 435 miles, which would be a major improvement over current EVs.

Focusing on Versatile Platforms

Automotive journalists who have been around a while will remember Ford’s Alan Mulally and his plan to reduce costs at the automaker. Mulally was determined to cut the number of Ford’s platforms so that plants could streamline production. Mulally explained that once the company had the correct platforms in place, the company could build different types of vehicles or “tophats” on the platforms more cost efficiently.

That is exactly what Stellantis is doing with its four new EV platforms. The flexibility of STLA Medium platform will allow the different Stellantis brands like Jeep and Chrysler to build different tophats like passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs in C and D segments. According to Stellantis, the C and D sized vehicles accounted for 35 million sales in 2022, which is nearly half of the 78.5 million vehicles sold globally that year.

STLA Medium is designed to meet customer expectations on what matters most to them: Best-in-class range of more than  435 miles, quick charging time, performance, efficiency and  affordability.   

STLA Medium will be installed in several plants to underpin new electric models. Stellantis’ European brands will be the first to offer BEVs or battery-electric vehicles. Stellantis plans to build up to two million vehicles per year on the medium platform around the world.

“What we see today is the product of just over two years of no-compromise innovation to deliver clean, safe and affordable mobility, supported by our €30 billion investment in electrification and software through 2025,” said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. “The STLA Medium platform demonstrates the power of the global Stellantis technical community, delivering products that are hyper-focused on our customers and rewriting long-held assumptions of transportation as we drive for carbon net zero by 2038.”

STLA Medium is the first of four global BEV platforms, designed to help the company meet its goals of reaching a 100% passenger car battery electric vehicle sales mix in Europe and a 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030.

Medium Platform Designed to Outperform Competitors

Much like when Ram announced that the 2025 Ram 1500 BEV would have the longest range of the electric trucks, the STLA Medium Platform is designed to have better range than its competitors. The BEV STLA Medium platform delivers best-in-class range of more than 435 miles with a Performance pack, while a Standard pack is rated at more than 310 miles on the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure.

STLA Medium uses a 400-volt electric architecture. Owners will be able to take their battery from 20% to 80% charge in 27 minutes, a rate of 2.4 kWh per minute. The STLA medium EV vehicles will be available with front-wheel-drive or all-wheel drive. The EV platform will have greater ground clearance than some current models, which means it will be great for Jeep and other SUV off-road configurations.

Platforms Designed for the Future

The STLA platform family (Small/Medium/Large/Frame) is engineered to be modular and flexible in wheelbase, width, ride height and suspension design. The platforms are designed to be versatile and improve over the years with the implementation of the STLA Brain architecture, STLA SmartCockpit and STLA AutoDrive platforms enabling over-the-air updates to software and enhanced hardware.

The flexibility includes powertrains. The vehicles can be front-drive, rear-drive or all-wheel drive. They also can be gas-powered, hybrid or battery-electric. At this point, Stellantis isn’t saying where the C and D sized EVs will be built in North America. Those future plans are expected to be part of the upcoming negotiations with the UAW and Unifor (Canadian) worker unions. Stellantis is putting the world on notice that they may be lagging behind the other automakers, but they do have EV plans in the works.

Stellantis Photo

Mary Conway is a professional automotive journalist and has decades of experience specializing in automotive news analysis. She covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin.

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