Chrysler Portal Concept Reportedly Going Into Production In 2020

Chrysler’s future is looking pretty bleak these days as the company’s lineup only consists of the 300 and Pacifica minivan.

Executives have already stated the 300 is living on borrowed time as the model no longer fits with their desire to position Chrysler as a “people movers” brand. The model is expected to be phased out in 2020 and that would leave Chrysler with just one vehicle.

Thankfully, it doesn’t look like the Pacifica will have to carry the Chrysler brand alone as Automotive News (subscription required) is reporting the Portal Concept will be going into production in 2020. Little is known about the production model, but it is expected to be an electric vehicle just like the concept that debuted at the Consumer Electrics Show in 2017.

This could potentially be a wise move as Chrysler and Waymo have an extensive partnership, but the Alphabet-owned recently tapped Jaguar Land Rover to provided 20,000 Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles. The decision to put the Portal into production would give Waymo an even more eco-friendly option than the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan.

While little is known about the rumored production model, the concept was billed as a “six-passenger multi-purpose vehicle” which was “designed by millennials for millennials.” Chrysler didn’t release detailed specifications, but said the front-wheel drive concept had an approximately 100 kWh lithium-ion battery pack which would enable the model to travel more than 250 miles (402 km) on a single charge. The concept was also designed to work with DC fast chargers and this enabled the van to be given 150 miles (241 km) of range in less than 20 minutes.

Besides the eco-friendly powertrain, the Portal concept was equipped with a Level Three semi-autonomous driving system which used LIDAR, radar and sonar sensors to enable the vehicle to drive itself in certain situations. The company even said concept was designed to be upgraded to higher levels of autonomy as technology progressed.