If you told someone in 2020 that four short years later, automakers would start rolling back aggressive battery-powered vehicle roadmaps, you’d have received one of two reactions: Either shock, or something to the effect of “well, duh.” Still, the great BEV pull-back continues. Ram is pushing its all-electric pickup truck down the road, and is refocusing on the range-extender Ramcharger by aiming to have it on sale in 2025.
As for why this product timing switcheroo happened, it’s no secret that battery electric pickup truck demand has been softer than some manufacturers likely expected. Ram states, “The decision to launch Ramcharger first was driven by overwhelming consumer interest, maintaining a competitive advantage in the technology and slowing industry demand for half-ton BEV pickups.”
Unlike pretty much any other truck ever, the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is a series plug-in hybrid where the engine functions solely as a generator and isn’t connected to the wheels. As it stands, nobody offers a series hybrid pickup truck in North America, although Scout has announced plans for one. Considering what trucks need to do, a series plug-in hybrid drivetrain makes a ton of sense because it can glide around on electric power alone for most commuting, but then take advantage of refuelling infrastructure when towing, which can significantly affect range on electric trucks.
Going into more detail, the Ram 1500 Ramcharger features a 92 kWh battery pack and a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 onboard, and Ram claims 690 miles of range if you run through both the battery pack and the fuel tank. What’s more, with 14,000 pounds of towing capacity, 663 horsepower, and a claimed zero-to-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds, there’s a pretty decent chance this will be a great tow rig.
Opening up order books at some point in the next six-ish months seems like a pretty smart move, and given Stellantis’ history of missing initial launch timelines, something coming out ahead of schedule makes a pretty good impression. It’s also great to see Stellantis focusing on a desirable product for North America, because vehicles like the Jeep Wagoneer, Dodge Charger Daytona EV, and Dodge Hornet just aren’t it.
However, amid this great news, there’s one elephant in the room: How competitive will the Ram REV be come 2026? Up to two years is an eternity in the EV space, as battery cell chemistries continue to advance and new products keep popping up. The Ford F-150 Lightning will likely be due for a mid-cycle refresh by then, Chevrolet should have Silverado EV production ramped up by 2026, Rivian’s still doing its Rivi-thing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Tesla applies rolling updates to the Cybertruck over the next few years. Stellantis simply can’t sit on the Ram 1500 REV for a year, it needs to keep iterating, even if only slightly.
In any case, we look forward to driving the Ram 1500 Ramcharger sooner than expected. On paper, it really seems like the sort of truck North America needs, especially since we generally buy vehicles on edge cases. Even if that range extender rarely gets used, it sounds like it could be a nice thing to have when it’s needed.
(Photo credits: Ram)
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