Stellantis’ new Ramcharger pickup, is expected to go on sale late next year, will be an “electric” truck, the company says. But really, Stellantis Ramcharger pickup will be a hybrid, with a gasoline engine under the hood, the company announced Tuesday.
Ram hybrid EV truck will be sold alongside the Ram REV truck, the company’s actual fully-electric truck, expected to go on sale around the same time.
Stellantis’ new Ramcharger pickup
Tim Kuniskis, the head of Stellantis’ Ram truck brand, insisted during a press conference that the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is not a plug-in hybrid. The main distinction, he said, is that the Ramcharger’s 3.6 liter 6-cylinder engine is not connected, in any way, to the truck’s wheels. It is only connected to a generator that can charge the batteries and, in some situations, send power to the electric motors, which then drive the wheels.
Such a setup, however, is known as a “series hybrid,” to distinguish it from the more common “parallel hybrid” in which the gas engine can directly drive the wheels, as in a Toyota Prius.
Ramcharger Fully charged batteries
With fully charged batteries, the Ramcharger electric pickup truck can travel as far as 145 miles without having to rely on gasoline. That’s far more than most plug-in hybrids currently on the market. Most can only go about 30 or 40 miles on a full charge before needing to use gasoline.
As per the company, with a fully charged battery pack and a full tank of gas, the Stellantis Ramcharger should be to drive a total of about 690 miles before needing recharge or refill. The range of Ramcharger pickup is similar to much smaller, lighter non-plug-in hybrid vehicles like the Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Camry.
Also, the Ramcharger pickup truck can use DC fast chargers to quickly recharge its batteries. Most plug-in hybrids cannot use fast chargers, which can add 100 miles of driving range in just a few minutes.
Ram previously unveiled an electric truck, the Ram REV, which will also go on sale late next year. The Ram REV truck will be able to travel up to 500 miles on a full charge but doesn’t have the Stellantis Ramcharger’s gasoline engine.
As per Kuniskis, the company is selling both the Ram REV truck and the Ramcharger pickup so it can have another product it can sell to people who want to buy an electric pickup truck, but are still worried about range anxiety.
“There’s so many advantages to a battery electric vehicle. But there are certain things that are slowing people down. And if I can say the things that are slowing you down are charge time, range anxiety and infrastructure, you don’t have to worry about it with this,” he said.
Ram 1500 REV
Ram hybrid EV truck and electric truck will enter the market long after competitors have gone on sale. Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares has said that he wanted to use the delay to Ram’s advantage since he would be able to see what consumers thought of other electric trucks.
Ramcharger pickup pricing
While Stellantis hasn’t announced pricing for either electric truck, Kuniskis hinted that prices for the Ramcharger pickup could be lower than for the Ram REV since the range-extended truck has a smaller battery pack. Batteries are the most expensive part of an electric vehicle.
Ramcharger’s two electric motors
The Ramcharger is driven by two electric motors, one powering the front wheels and the other the back, giving the truck all-wheel drive. Combined, the two motors can produce up to 663 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque, a measure of pulling power. That’s 268 horsepower and 172 pound-feet more than a gasoline-powered Ram pickup with a V8 engine.
Because the Ramcharger’s gas engine isn’t mechanically connected to the wheels, there’s no transmission or drive shafts running under the passenger cabin, the Ramcharger has the same flat interior floor as the Ram REV. That allows more space inside for comfort and for additional storage. Most gas powered trucks have a hump in the floor to allow room for those mechanical components.
