Chrysler ecoVoyager: a hydrogen fuel cell and a 300-mile range

The Chrysler ecoVoyager was a concept car revealed on 14 January 2008 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It combined a lithium-ion battery pack with an advanced hydrogen fuel cell, a pairing Chrysler claimed would give a range of 300 miles (483 km).

Chrysler ecoVoyager at a glance

This page is based on one source, the short English Wikipedia article on the ecoVoyager concept.

History of the Chrysler ecoVoyager

A hydrogen idea

The ecoVoyager was Chrysler’s 2008 study of a car running on hydrogen. Rather than relying on a fuel cell alone, it combined a lithium-ion battery pack with an advanced hydrogen fuel cell, an arrangement the company said would provide a range of 300 miles (483 kilometres) — enough to make the car usable beyond short urban trips.

Why it stayed a concept

The car was presented at the Detroit show in January 2008, at a time when several manufacturers were showing hydrogen fuel-cell concepts and when Chrysler itself was also showing the plug-in hybrid 200C study the following year. Like those cars, the ecoVoyager remained a show exhibit: the hydrogen refuelling network it would have needed did not exist, and the car never reached production.

Design and features

• Hydrogen fuel cell: the primary power source, with water as its only emission.
• Lithium-ion battery pack: combined with the fuel cell rather than used alone.
• 300-mile range: Chrysler’s claim for the combination, far beyond most battery cars of the period.

Chrysler ecoVoyager versions

• ecoVoyager concept (2008): the single show car, never produced.

The ecoVoyager followed the hybrid Citadel concept and preceded the plug-in 200C EV, while its body style echoed the Chrysler Voyager. More cars are in the Chrysler collection.

Sources

• Chrysler ecoVoyager, English Wikipedia: debut, powertrain, claimed range
• Chrysler ecoVoyager, Wikimedia Commons: photographs