The Chrysler brand of Auburn Hills’ Stellantis today revealed the Chrysler Airflow Concept at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, providing a glimpse at the drive-system technology, fully connected customer experiences, advanced mobility features, and a design it says will inspire the future of the brand.
The company also announced it will launch its first battery-electric-vehicle (BEV) by 2025 and a future all-electric Chrysler lineup.
“The Chrysler Airflow Concept represents the future direction of the Chrysler brand, providing a peek at the dynamic design, advanced technologies, and seamless connectivity that will characterize the full-electric portfolio we plan to reach by 2028,” says Chris Feuell, CEO of Chrysler.
The automaker also will integrate its STLA Brain platform and STLA SmartCockpit to deliver seamless connectivity to transform the experience for drivers and passengers. The concept creates a connected hub that brings a consumer’s digital life into the vehicle to create a customized space for each occupant.
“The Chrysler Airflow Concept represents the start of the brand’s journey toward a fully electrified future. It is the result of a thoughtful synthesis of the full arsenal of Stellantis’ connected vehicle technology — inside and out,” says Ralph Gilles, chief design officer at Stellantis. “The design features a decisively elegant aerodynamic exterior and a modern, sophisticated interior that takes the customer on a new level of digital delight.”
The STLA Brain platform enables software developers to create and update features and services quickly, taking advantage of capabilities built into the cockpit without waiting for a new hardware launch.
The Airflow Concept is equipped with STLA AutoDrive, delivering level 3 autonomous driving capabilities with plans for over-the-air updates. It also features all-wheel-drive capability and is powered by two 150 kW electric drive motors (EDMs) and is designed to accommodate larger future EDMs.
In related news: Stellantis and Amazon announced a multi-year agreement that positions the global automaker to shift into becoming a sustainable mobility tech company, which involves using Amazon Devices, Amazon Web Services, and Amazon Last Mile.
The two companies will collaborate to deploy Amazon’s technology and software expertise across Stellantis’ organization, including vehicle development, building connected in-vehicle experiences, and training the next generation of automotive software engineers.
Together, they will also create a suite of software-based products and services that seamlessly integrate with customers’ digital lives and add value over time through regular over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
“Over the past two decades, Amazon has built the technology, expertise and culture of innovation to be a world leader in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning,” says Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon.
“We’ve used these capabilities to make life better for customers around the world through products and services like Alexa, Kindle, and Fire TV, and with AWS we’ve helped thousands of companies transform themselves and their industries. We’re excited to collaborate with Stellantis to transform the automotive industry and reinvent the in-vehicle experience.”
The partnership will focus on several areas, including the STLA SmartCockpit, which will use Amazon products and solutions that are purpose-built for vehicles, while Stellantis will have the flexibility to create custom, brand- and vehicle-specific capabilities.
Stellantis also selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider for vehicle platforms. The company plans to migrate its current vehicle data pipeline company-wide into a cloud-based data mesh, making use of AWS’ capabilities for scalable and durable real-time data streaming.
Both companies are creating a cloud-based product development environment called the Virtual Engineering Workbench, which provides automated workflows to manage software development and testing, high-performance simulations, machine learning model training, and data collection and analysis.
Stellantis recently announced the launch of a Software Academy for the upskilling and reskilling of existing and new employees. As part of this, Stellantis and AWS also plan to launch a new global learning curriculum, called the Agile-auto Software and Data Academy, which will cover software, data, and cloud technology. It will also train more than 5,000 developers and engineers by 2024 in AWS-related cloud technologies to accelerate the organizational transformation.
In related news: FCA U.S. reported its fourth quarter (Q4) and full-year sales results for 2021, which showed a total of 411,513 vehicles sold in Q4 and 1,777,394 vehicles over the course of the year.
Total U.S. sales for Q4 declined 18 percent, while full-year results decreased 2 percent. Retail sales were flat for the calendar year. Despite strong fleet demand and orders, the company prioritized retail customer orders given supply constraints, which led to a fleet decrease of 8 percent in Q4 and 13 percent year-over-year.
“2021 had unique challenges driven by the various supply chain issues, but our dealers didn’t let that slow them down, and we’re proud of their sales performance,” says Jeff Kommor, U.S. head of sales.
“As we head into the new year, demand for our vehicles continues to be strong and our inventory is improving. We anticipate a continuation of the robust demand and sales volumes into 2022 with our existing and new products, which are backed up by the industry accolades across our brand portfolio, including the Grand Wagoneer, Wagoneer, Ram 1500 and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee.”
The Ram Truck brand’s sales grew by 4 percent for the year, while the brands pickups were up 1 percent year-over-year. Total commercial shipments increased a combined 38 percent when compared to 2020. It also recorded its best total sales year ever for Promaster Van at 63,361 vehicles, up 25 percent versus the previous calendar year.
The Jeep brand’s retail sales were up 1 percent year-over-year. The brand was led by the growth of the Grand Cherokee and Gladiator. Total U.S. Q4 sales for the Grand Cherokee rose 31 percent with a total sales increase of 26 percent for the calendar year, while Gladiator increased 16 percent in 2021.
Chrysler brand’s total year sales increased 4 percent year-over-year, with record Q4 results for the Chrysler Pacifica, increasing 5 percent over the same quarter last year. Additionally, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid recorded its best total Q4 and full-year results.
The Dodge Brand saw growth as well, with sales of the Durango increasing 14 percent year-over-year, Challenger total sales rising 3 percent, and Charger total sales rising 1 percent in 2021.
