Peapod Mobility, the new Chrysler division whose birth has been largely overshadowed by its parent company’s troubles, will begin taking orders — online only — on Earth Day, April 22, its lead director, Peter Arnell, said in a recent interview.

The Peapod is a “neighborhood electric vehicle” with a rounded shape. It will sell for $12,500, and Mr. Arnell said the company planned to produce 25,000 to start. Deliveries begin in the fall.

The vehicle is based on an earlier neighborhood electric vehicle produced by GEM, another Chrysler subsidiary. The earlier GEMs had a range of about 40 miles on an eight-hour charge, and most are used in gated communities, where the 25-mile-an-hour top speed is more than enough. GEM will assemble the Peapod in its Fargo, N.D., plant and continue to sell its own models.

Unlike the about 40,000 neighborhood electric vehicles that GEM has sold, the Peapod is cute and cartoony, though Mr. Arnell prefers the word “charming.” He said he wanted to leave behind “the form follows function esthetic of the GEM,” which some might also call glorified golf cart. “We want to evolve the design language to an ecoiconic one,” he said. “The idea is something that is charming and brings joy.”

Mr. Arnell also called it “an appliance,” a word that most automobile designers would never use to describe their designs. But Mr. Arnell doesn’t want to call his product a car at all. He wants it to be thought of as a personal transport pod, an iPod on wheels, with a new moniker: “mobi.” He wants to make an impact with the Peapod, as Dyson did with the vacuum cleaner.

Mr. Arnell is Chrysler’s chief innovation officer and enjoys the favor of Chrysler’s chief executive, Robert Nardelli, with whom he worked at Home Depot, where he created a skunkworkslike division to develop novel products.

But Mr. Arnell has also advised Chrysler before on design and brand-ing. In 2001, he suggested new dealer formats and was the man behind the 2003 advertising campaign in which Celine Dion sang from inside a Pacifica crossover and praised the Dodge Town and Country minivan.

The Peapod car will be available in a half dozen colors with four more to come. Mr. Arnell said the company will offer an extensive program of custom accessories in the manner of Mini or Scion. The choices, soon to be added to the Web site, will include a variety of seating, including Aeron chair-style mesh, and wheel styles.

But don’t expect to find the Peapod at the New York auto show in April. Mr. Arnell said he will keep the Peapod away from auto shows. “They send the wrong message,” he said.