Mumbai: US automakers have reached the start of a new era in which they can compete with foreign brands, Chrysler LLC vice chairman Jim Press said. He also called for government support for clean-fuel vehicles.

For this, the government should make available billions of dollars of funds to US automakers to help them come to the market quicker with electric cars, Press said.

''I think it will allow everybody to bring electric cars, plug-in hybrids, hybrid cars, even range-extended hybrids. All of those vehicles will be accelerated,'' he said.

US automakers have been pressing the US administration for $25 billion in industry loans, climbing down from their original request for $25-billion.

There needs to be ''some way of taking a look at the return on that $25 billion, and if, in everyone's perspective, we can do it again, we should. I think for a beginning, $25 billion is an appropriate place to start,'' Press said.

Chrysler had plans to develop an electric car that would compete against Chevrolet Volt - an electric vehicle with an onboard generator. The lithium-ion battery technology vehicle was slated to hit the market in 2010.

Chrysler, in fact, has been working on three prototype electric vehicles. Chrysler's ENVI division has been reported to be developing electric vehicles and planning to launch a vehicle within three to five years.

Press said with a new union contract that shifts retiree health care costs to a trust and lower wages for new hires, Chrysler and other automakers have become leaner.

Chrysler had cut production by a million units in the past year to match a smaller US market. Chrysler sales are down 24 per cent so far this year, he pointed out.

The company is spending $3 billion developing plants and new vehicles each year and plans seven new vehicles in 2010.

Chrysler, meanwhile, is also looking at a possible sale of its high-performance Dodge Viper, a low-volume V10-powered sports car, which has drawn interest from North American and international parties, he said.

''We have been approached by outside individuals who want to work with us to buy the asset and sustain Viper going forward,'' Press said.