The vehicles join a fleet of over 100 identical demonstrators delivered to 16 cities across the United States in the last six months. Set to total 140 plug-in hybrid pickup trucks, the vehicles are being used to collect data about usage, charging, thermal management and grid impact.
The project is funded by a £29.4m ($48m) grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, through the Department of Energy's Transport Electrification Initiative, Chrysler Group invested a further £30.3m ($49.4m) in the project. It aims to develop cost-effective, safe, recharge-free mobility, while reducing the dependence on imported oil.
Cities included in the trial so far include San Francisco and Sacramento in California, Charlotte in North Carolina, Boston in Massachusetts and Albany in New York. The New York Police Department has also taken delivery of five Ram 1500 PHEV trucks.
Chrysler has said it plans to extend the trial further next year, including 25 plug-in hybrid versions of the Town & Country minivan.