Everybody knows that electric cars, although they are reasonably inexpensive to run, they are not cheap to build on a mass scale. Chrysler has shocked the motor industry (in a good way), by pitching the idea to the government that they should offer loans to electric car manufacturers. The estimated ’starting loan’ would have to be somewhere in the region of $25 billion! This would be split up and shared between several different car companies, which would be monitored to see how they are spending the money.

The request came shortly after the American government said they would actively encourage manufacturers that wish to move into the electric car market. It seems like the reason these loans have been refused in the past was because they were simply asking for too much. The initial request from detroit electric car manufacturers was $50 billion. Chrysler have halved the amount, and results look promising, as some high ranking politicians are already backing the idea.

Chrysler is somewhat lagging behind in the electric car race, although some press sources have said that Chrysler plan to manufacture and release an electric car within three to five years. This new loan request could be seen as a ‘jealousy’ bid to try to beat Chevrolet, before they release the ‘Volt’ in 2010. Who knows, however, it does seem like an excellent idea, on paper.