Chrysler Airflow shifts from electric dream to practical SUV
A new official Stellantis multienergy video may have given the first glimpse of Chrysler’s next SUV, the Airflow. If the American motoring press has read the clues correctly, the Airflow will no longer arrive purely as an electric manifesto. Instead, it looks set to become a monocoque family SUV with several powertrain options, the kind of car Chrysler needs if it wants to build a real model range alongside the Pacifica.
Airflow is no longer just a concept car
Chrysler first showed an electric concept under the Airflow name in 2022. Back then, the brand talked about a range of up to 644 kilometres, two 150 kW electric drive modules and Level 3 driver assistance. The latest hint makes the story much more grounded. The vehicle in the video looks boxier, with a more upright nose and more practical proportions, rather than a thin, futuristic coupe style SUV.
Motor1 spotted a mysterious Chrysler in Stellantis’s multienergy video and linked it to the Airflow. Car and Driver added that it had seen the same model at Stellantis’s Investor Day and also considers the car shown in the footage to be the future Airflow. Chrysler has not officially attached the Airflow name to that video frame yet, so this remains a strong, but still unconfirmed, clue.
A technical shift from electric only to multiple powertrains
The layout shown in the video points to a transversely mounted combustion engine. US sources connect it with the Jeep Cherokee’s 1.6 litre turbo engine, which produces 132 kW and 300 Nm on its own, or 157 kW and 312 Nm as part of a hybrid system. According to Jeep’s own figures, the Cherokee hybrid averages about 6.4 l/100 km and can travel more than 805 kilometres on one tank.
That changes the Airflow’s position. Chrysler is probably not trying to attack the Tesla Model Y or Hyundai Ioniq 5 purely with an electric image. Instead, Stellantis appears to be building a flexible model that can survive the shifting moods of the US market: petrol, conventional hybrid and later an electric version. Higher trim levels could also suit the new Hurricane 4 turbo engine, which US sources put at around 242 kW.
STLA One turns Airflow into a cost project, not a niche car
The Airflow is expected to sit on STLA One, Stellantis’s new modular platform for B, C and D segment cars. Stellantis says the architecture will reduce complexity, allow components to be used across a wide scale and support different types of powertrain. The platform enters use in 2027, supports an 800 volt electric architecture and should eventually underpin more than 30 models.
That is critical for Chrysler. The brand currently lives almost entirely on the Pacifica minivan, while the heart of the US market beats to the rhythm of SUVs. The Airflow therefore has to do two things at once: give Chrysler a modern identity and keep the price low enough to compete in the same world as the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR V and Hyundai Tucson.
The price points towards the mass market
According to Car and Driver, the Airflow is targeting a US price below 40,000 dollars, about €34,400. That is not a European showroom price, because US prices usually exclude local taxes and the cost of European homologation. The Chrysler Arrow and Arrow Cross are expected to stay below 30,000 dollars in the US, about €25,800.
From a European perspective, the more interesting name is Fiat Grizzly. Reuters reported that Fiat will begin selling the Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the second half of 2026. US sources connect the Chrysler Arrow and Arrow Cross with those Fiat models, which suggests Stellantis will use the same technical base under different badges on different continents.
Chrysler remains a bystander in Europe for now
For European buyers, the Airflow is unlikely to become a direct new model in the near future. Stellantis treats Chrysler as a regional brand, while Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat receive the broader global investment focus. In Europe, the same space will more likely be filled by Peugeot, Opel, Citroën and Fiat than by Chrysler.
That makes the Airflow important in a strategic sense. It shows how Stellantis is stepping back from the period when every brand seemed expected to rush into a fully electric future. Now flexibility, price and volume matter more. For Chrysler, that may be the survival recipe: not a glittering niche EV, but a proper family SUV that can handle everyday life and finally give the brand a second leg to stand on.
Technical brief
The Airflow is expected to use the STLA One platform, which supports petrol, hybrid and electric drivetrains.
A possible base engine is the Jeep Cherokee’s 1.6 litre turbo, producing 132 kW and 300 Nm on its own.
The Cherokee hybrid system produces 157 kW and 312 Nm and, according to US figures, uses about 6.4 l/100 km.
More expensive versions could get the Hurricane 4 turbo engine, at around 242 kW.
The claimed US target price is below 40,000 dollars, about €34,400 before tax.
