Stellantis wants to build an industry-first electric pickup truck called the Ram 1500 Ramcharger, which will be powered by an electric generator and a gas engine.
- IMPORTANT NOTES
- Stellantis intends to build an industry-first pickup truck for its Ram Trucks brand, complete with an onboard gas engine and an electric generator.
- The truck can function as a zero-emissions EV until the battery expires, at which point an electric onboard generator powered by a 3.6-liter V6 engine kicks in to power the vehicle.
- According to Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, the new Ram 1500 Ramcharger pickup is the “ultimate answer for battery-electric trucks.”
If that sounds like an oxymoron, let me explain: The truck can function as a zero-emissions EV until the battery expires, at which point an electric onboard generator powered by a 27-gallon, 3.6-liter V6 engine kicks in to power the vehicle. According to Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, the result is a truck with the benefits of an EV, such as quick acceleration and some zero-emissions driving, but without the range anxiety associated with most existing electric vehicles.
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“This is the ultimate battery-electric truck solution.” Nobody else has anything like that,” Kuniskis told reporters at an occasion. “This is going to be a game changer for battery-electric trucks.” The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger is slated to go on sale in late 2024, alongside a previously revealed all-electric Ram 1500 truck that does not have a gas-powered engine or a range-extension electric generator.
Stellantis estimates the Ramcharger’s range to be up to 690 miles, including up to 145 miles when fully charged with the extended-range power from the gas engine and 130 kilowatt electric generator. This compared to the all-electric Ram 1500 REV pickup’s estimated 500-mile range. It also outperforms the current Ram 1500, which has a 3.6-liter V-6 engine and a 26-gallon tank with a total range of up to 546 miles, according to the US EPA. Stellantis did not provide pricing information for the Ramcharger, which was unveiled Tuesday as part of a revamp of current gasoline-powered Ram 1500 trucks for the 2025 model year.
‘Not a PHEV’
The Ramcharger, according to Kuniskis, is intended to bridge the gap between traditional trucks with internal combustion engines and all-electric vehicles, which currently face significant challenges with charging infrastructure and range anxiety, particularly when towing — a major reason for purchasing a truck.
According to Stephanie Brinley, associate director of AutoIntelligence for S&P Global Mobility, such enhancements could be a brand differentiation.”It works to address the fact that right now the industry and the pickup truck segment in particular is not ready to just flip to EVs 100%,” she told Automotive News. “It addresses some of those concerns about performance and range anxiety, and it’s effective.” — The difficult thing will be convincing consumers to grasp what it accomplishes.”
Similar propulsion technology, known as extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs, is available in foreign countries, particularly China. It has also been used in automobiles such as General Motors’ discontinued Chevrolet Volt sedan. The key difference between the Ramcharger and the Volt, according to Stellantis engineers, is that once the battery expires, the truck is pushed only by electric motors rather than the vehicle’s engine. It is also expected to be the first time it has been used in a manufacturing full-size pickup vehicle.
According to Stellantis, the Ramcharger has 663 horsepower and 615 foot-pounds of torque and can accelerate from 0 to 60 kilometers per hour in 4.4 seconds. According to the business, the truck will be capable of bidirectional charging, in which the vehicle acts as a generator to power appliances or even a whole home.
Kuniskis, who also oversees Stellantis’ Dodge brand, declined to comment on whether Ramcharger technology will be employed in other vehicles. In the United States, Stellantis brands include Chrysler, Jeep, and Fiat. The Ramcharger differs from conventional plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, in that it offers a range of all-electric driving followed by an engine powering the vehicle once the battery is drained.
“The Ramcharger is not a PHEV,” claimed Kuniskis. “It’s a battery-electric truck with its own onboard, high-speed charger.”
“There’s no connection between the engine and the wheels,” he told me. “The gas generator is only there to charge the battery.”
Ram’s truck strategy differs from that of its main competitors, General Motors and Ford Motor Company. The latter offers traditional, hybrid, and all-electric versions of its F-150 full-size truck, but GM has stated that it intends to migrate from regular vehicles to electric ones without using hybrids. Stellantis now sells PHEV versions of Chrysler Pacifica minivans and Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs.
The Ramcharger’s design is a hybrid of the all-electric Ram 1500 REV and the redesigned gas versions of the regular trucks that will be available early next year. The Ramcharger features LED lines from the headlamps across the grille, new badging that debuted on the all-electric truck, and other design and facia elements shared by the two.
The most significant change for classic Ram 1500 vehicles is the removal of the company’s well-known Hemi V-8 engine. The Hurricane, a twin-turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine, will replace the truck’s current 5.7-liter Hemi engine.
Frequently asked questions
Does Stellantis Ram have an EV pickup?
The 2025 Ram 1500 EV will be an entirely new vehicle and the first Ram pickup truck powered solely by electricity.
What is the range of the Ram Revolution EV?
The all-electric, zero-emission Ram 1500 REV, built on the strength of the new STLA Frame platform, is poised for performance with remarkable benchmarks in towing, payload, charge time, and a manufacturer’s projected total driving range of 350 miles with the standard 168 kilowatt-hour battery pack.
Does Ram make a hybrid truck?
eTorque employs mild hybrid technology to provide the best of both worlds: a conventional vehicle and a hybrid vehicle. Continue your study on RAM eTorque mild hybrid technology today with the professionals at Bill Luke Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram and learn everything there is to know about the excellent engineering available on RAM trucks!
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