2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Tungsten
RAM
DETROIT — Automobile manufacturer Stellantis plans to produce an industry-first electric pickup truck called the Ram 1500 Ramcharger, equipped with an electric generator and a gasoline engine.
If that sounds like an oxymoron, here’s how it works: The truck can operate as a zero-emission electric vehicle until its battery dies and an onboard electric generator – powered by a 3.6 V6 engine liters and 27 gallons – starts to fuel the vehicle. vehicle.
The result is a truck that offers the benefits of an electric vehicle, such as rapid acceleration and emissions-free driving, without the range anxiety synonymous with most electric vehicles today, according to Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis .
“This is the ultimate solution for the battery-electric truck. No one else has anything like it,” Kuniskis told reporters at an event. “This will be a game changer for battery electric trucks.”
The 2025 Ramcharger 1500 Ramcharger is expected to go on sale in late 2024 alongside a previously revealed all-electric Ram 1500 truck, with no gasoline engine or range-extending electric generator.
Stellantis estimates the Ramcharger’s range to be up to 690 miles, including up to 145 miles powered by a 92-kilowatt-hour battery when fully charged without the range-extended power of the gasoline engine and 130-kilowatt electric generator.
This range compares to the expected 500-mile range of the Ram 1500 REV all-electric pickup. It also outperforms the current Ram 1500, which features a 3.6-liter V6 engine and up to a 26-gallon fuel tank with a total range of up to 546 miles, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Stellantis has not announced pricing for the Ramcharger, which was revealed Tuesday as part of a redesign of the current gas-powered Ram 1500 pickup trucks for the 2025 model year.
“Not a PHEV”
Kuniskis said the Ramcharger is designed as a bridge between traditional trucks with internal combustion engines and all-electric trucks, which currently face significant hurdles in charging infrastructure and fuel anxiety. autonomy, especially when vehicles are towed – a main reason to buy a truck.
Such improvements could be a differentiator for the brand, according to Stephanie Brinley, associate director of AutoIntelligence for S&P Global Mobility.
“This addresses the fact that at present the industry and the pickup segment in particular are not ready to move 100% to electric vehicles,” she said. “It addresses some of those performance and battery life anxiety issues, and it’s strong. But the hardest part will be getting consumers to really understand what it does.”
2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Tungsten
RAM
Similar propulsion technology – called extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs – is available in overseas markets, including China. It was also similarly offered in vehicles such as the discontinued Chevrolet Volt sedan from General engines.
Stellantis engineers said the main difference between the technology in the Ramcharger and the Volt is that the truck is powered exclusively by electric motors, not the vehicle’s engine, once the battery is depleted. This is also expected to be the first application of this system in a production full-size pickup truck.
The Ramcharger makes 663 horsepower and 615 foot-pounds of torque and can reach 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds, Stellantis said. The truck will be capable of bi-directional charging, where the vehicle will act as a generator to power appliances or even an entire home, the company said.
Kuniskis, who also runs Stellantis’ Dodge brand, declined to say whether the Ramcharger’s technology would be used in other vehicles. Other Stellantis brands include Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat in the United States.
The Ramcharger works differently from current plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, which offer an all-electric driving range, followed by a motor powering the vehicle after the battery is depleted.
Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis unveils the Charger Daytona SRT electric muscle car concept on August 17, 2022 in Pontiac, Michigan.
Michael Wayland/CNBC
“The Ramcharger is not a PHEV,” Kuniskis said. “It’s a battery-electric truck with its own high-speed onboard charger.”
“There is no connection between the engine and the wheels,” he said. “The gas generator is only there to charge the battery.”
Ram’s truck strategy is different from its main competitors GM and Ford engine. The latter offers traditional, hybrid and fully electric versions of its F-150 full-size truck, while GM has announced plans to transition from traditional trucks to electric trucks without resorting to hybrids.
Stellantis currently offers PHEV versions of vehicles such as the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs.
Goodbye Hemi
The design of the Ramcharger is a mix between the the all-electric Ram 1500 REV and refreshed gasoline versions of the traditional trucks, which will be available early next year.
The Ramcharger includes bright lines across its grille from the headlights, a new badge that debuted on the all-electric truck, and other design and fascia elements in between.
For traditional Ram 1500 models, the biggest change is that the company is ditching its popular Hemi V-8. Replacing the current 5.7-liter Hemi engine offered in the truck will be a twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine called the Hurricane.
Ram’s 2023 Super Bowl ad features the production version of the Ram 1500 REV electric pickup that is expected to go on sale in late 2024.
Screenshot
“Some customers are going to be upset that you won’t have a Hemi in there,” Kuniskis said. “Of course, the Hemi is an absolute legend. Americans love the Hemi, but this one far surpasses the Hemi.”
The 3.0-liter Hurricane engine produces 420 horsepower and 469 foot-pounds of torque, while a high-output version of the engine develops 540 horsepower and 521 foot-pounds of torque. That compares to the current Hemi V-8 at 395 horsepower and 410 foot-pounds of torque.
Inline or straight six-cylinder engines have been used in American vehicles by automakers such as BMW and Jaguar, but they are far from common in the United States.
Other truck changes include a new luxury model called Tungsten and a performance variant called RHO replacing Ram’s high-output TRX pickup that is equipped with a 6.2-liter Hemi V8 capable of 702 horsepower and 650 foot-pounds of torque.
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