Chrysler will display electric car at Detroit auto show

Chrysler Group LLC will show off new products at the Detroit auto show, after all, a source familiar with Chrysler's planning told The Detroit News.

The Auburn Hills automaker will show a battery-powered version of the Fiat 500 subcompact, a product of the company's partnership with Italian automaker Fiat SpA, the source said Tuesday. It also will present a Chrysler model based on Fiat's Lancia Delta, the source said.

Details of the company's plans are not public, and Chrysler recently said it would not show anything new at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, saying its plans were to show new vehicles that were actually ready for consumers to buy.

It isn't known whether Chrysler has decided to put the car into production, the source said. Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, who holds the same title at Fiat, said last month the company plans to produce about 56,000 electric vehicles annually by 2014, and Chrysler may base its initial model on the Fiat Doblo van.

The cars to be shown in Detroit will signal how Fiat's designs will be incorporated into the lineup of Chrysler's products to help the company attempt to end losses after it emerged from bankruptcy.

Even with the news Chrysler will show two new vehicles, the company isn't on the press conference list.

The show opens to the media Jan. 11-12 and the public Jan. 14. Gualberto Ranieri, a Chrysler spokesman, declined to comment.