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DaimlerChrysler Corporation Provides Dodge EPIC Electric Minivans to San Diego Postal Service

4 February 2000

DaimlerChrysler Corporation to Provide Dodge EPIC Electric Minivans to San Diego Postal Service

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 4 -- The U.S. Postal Service in San
Diego, California, will put 45 zero-emission Dodge EPIC electric minivans into
service this year under an agreement with DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
    The EPIC, or Electric Powered Interurban Commuter, is the electric version
of DaimlerChrysler's popular Dodge Caravan minivan.  The vehicles will be
delivered in the first quarter of this year.
    With delivery of 45 Dodge EPICs to the San Diego Postal Service and
commitments to other customers, DaimlerChrysler has successfully leased all of
its current production of electric minivans.  The next generation of
DaimlerChrysler electric vehicle is currently under development and will be
introduced in the fall of 2002.
    DaimlerChrysler has exceeded its commitment to place electric vehicles
under the Memorandum of Agreement with the California Air Resources Board.  In
addition, 25 EPICs are in use in the State of New York.
    In California, a total of 62 EPICs will be in use at Postal Service
offices in San Diego, Harbor City, and Huntington Beach.  Xpress Shuttle, a
shuttle service that operates out of Los Angeles World Airport, has 11 in
service, with nine more being ordered.  Other major users include the
Department of Defense at Navy and Air Force bases and the University of
California at Los Angeles (UCLA).  The delivery service UPS plans a fleet of
13 EPICs for use in southern California.
    "Our electric minivans are being used in a wide variety of settings, with
many different applications," said Mike Clement, Director of Alternative Fuel
Vehicle Sales and Marketing for DaimlerChrysler Corporation.  "Some of these
EPICs, such as the Postal Service vehicles, will be driven a limited number of
miles each day with a lot of stops and starts.  Others will travel hundreds of
miles each day.  This will give us a lot of information about how these
vehicles perform under widely different circumstances."
    In addition, hundreds of thousands of airline passengers will experience
electric vehicle technology -- many for the first time -- in the EPICs in use
at Xpress Shuttle.
    The EPIC combines the space and utility of the world's most popular
minivan with the flexibility and extended range provided by DaimlerChrysler's
unique fast-charge technology.  The vehicle can travel at speeds up to 80
miles per hour and is equipped with air bags, antilock brakes, air-
conditioning, power door locks and other amenities.  The EPIC can carry a
payload of 925 pounds -- for example, five people and their luggage -- and has
a range of 80-90 miles with its nickel metal hydride battery pack.
    With fast charging, the EPIC can be recharged within 30 minutes, compared
with the typical 8-10 hours to recharge other electric vehicles.  In a recent
demonstration of fast-charge capability, an EPIC logged more than 350 miles on
the streets and expressways of Atlanta, Georgia, in one 10-hour period.
    The deployment of EPICs continues DaimlerChrysler's commitment to
California's clean air efforts.  DaimlerChrysler was the first mass-production
automaker to certify vehicles to California's standards for Zero Emission
Vehicles (the 1993 Dodge Caravan TEVan), for Low Emission Vehicles (the 1993
natural gas Dodge Ram Van and Wagon), and for Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (the
1994 natural gas Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans).  In addition,
DaimlerChrysler is a founding partner in the California Fuel Cell Partnership
and will begin to operate fuel cell vehicles in California later this year.
    "We're pleased to have our full complement of EPICs in use, providing us
with new information about the performance and capabilities of these vehicles
in the real world," said Randall Ryszewski, Senior Manager of the EPIC Team at
DaimlerChrysler Corporation.  "We have already incorporated improvements into
our next generation of electric vehicles based on our experience over the past
two years.  The in-use fleet will continue to provide feedback for further
improvements in our electric vehicle program."