Media Advisory: City Receives 3 New Test Fleet Vehicles From Chrysler

04/24/2012 | Dave Nash, Public Affairs Coordinator

Yuma, Ariz. - In the next phase of partnership with Chrysler Group LLC and the U.S. Department of Energy, the City of Yuma received three plug-in hybrid minivans for test use in real-world driving conditions. Members of the media are invited to see and photograph the vans at City Hall at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

• WHAT: Photo and video opportunity for plug-in electric hybrid minivans.
• WHEN: 10:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 25
• WHERE: Yuma City Hall, One City Plaza (3rd Street between 1st Avenue and Madison Avenue)
• WHO: City Administrator Greg Wilkinson, Fleet Manager Charlie Caudill and members of the City's Media and Public Affairs team will be on hand to take or coordinate interviews.

The three Town and Country minivans will join the City's fleet on a test basis for two years. Through technology installed on each vehicle, Chrysler engineers will obtain and monitor a wide array of details about the vehicles and how they handle driving a lot of stop-and-go miles in frequently hot, dry conditions.

Similar to the demonstration Ram trucks the City is already driving as part of the same program, the new minivans are plug-in hybrid-electric (PHEV) vehicles, meaning they can drive using power from an electric battery that can charge in as little as two hours, or power from a hybrid-electric engine. With an approximate 38-mile range using solely electric power and the vehicle operating as a gas-electric hybrid thereafter, the City can realize some savings on fuel costs by driving these vans in place of existing fleet vehicles.