Posted on 11/07/2023 6:06:24 AM PST by Red Badger
KEY POINTS
Stellantis plans to produce an industry-first pickup for its Ram Trucks brand that’s equipped with an onboard gas engine and electric generator.
The truck can operate as a zero-emissions EV until the vehicle’s battery dies and an electric onboard generator — powered by a 3.6-liter V6 engine — kicks on to power the vehicle after its initial charge.
Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis characterized the new Ram 1500 Ramcharger pickup as the “ultimate answer for battery-electric trucks.”
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2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Tungsten Ram DETROIT — Automaker Stellantis plans to produce an industry-first electric pickup truck called the Ram 1500 Ramcharger that’s equipped with an electric generator and a gas engine.
If that sounds like an oxymoron, here’s how it works: The truck can operate as a zero-emissions EV until its battery dies and an electric onboard generator — powered by a 27-gallon, 3.6-liter V6 engine — kicks on to power the vehicle.
The outcome is a truck with the benefits of an EV, such as fast acceleration and some zero-emissions driving, without the range anxiety synonymous with most current electric vehicles, according to Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis.
“This is the ultimate answer for the battery-electric truck. No one else has got anything else like it,” Kuniskis told reporters during an event. “This is going to be a game changer for battery-electric trucks.”
The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger is expected to go on sale in late 2024 alongside a previously revealed all-electric Ram 1500 truck without a gas-powered engine or range-extending electric generator.
Stellantis estimates the range of the Ramcharger to be up to 690 miles, including up to 145 miles powered by a 92 kilowatt-hour battery when fully charged without the extended-range power from the gas engine and 130 kilowatt electric generator.
That range compares with up to an expected 500-mile range of the all-electric Ram 1500 REV pickup. It also tops the current Ram 1500, which has a 3.6-liter V-6 engine and an up to 26-gallon tank with a total range of up to 546 miles, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Stellantis did not announce pricing of the Ramcharger, which was revealed Tuesday as part of a redesign of current gasoline-powered Ram 1500 pickups for the 2025 model year.
‘Not a PHEV’ Kuniskis said the Ramcharger is meant as a bridge between traditional trucks with internal combustion engines and all-electric ones, which currently face significant hurdles regarding charging infrastructure and range anxiety, especially when the vehicles are towing — a main reason to purchase a truck.
Such improvements could be a differentiator for the brand, according to Stephanie Brinley, associate director of AutoIntelligence for S&P Global Mobility.
“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 said. “It addresses some of those performance and range anxiety concerns, and it’s strong.— But the difficult part is going to be getting consumers to really understand what it does.”
2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Tungsten
Ram
Similar propulsion technology — referred to as extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs — is available in overseas markets, specifically China. It’s also similarly been offered in vehicles such as the discontinued Chevrolet Volt sedan from General Motors .
Stellantis engineers said the main difference between the technology of the Ramcharger and the Volt is that the truck is being exclusively propelled by electric motors, not the vehicle’s engine, once the battery dies. It’s also expected to be the first application of it in a production full-size pickup truck.
The Ramcharger features 663 horsepower and 615 foot-pounds of torque and can achieve 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds, Stellantis said. The truck will be capable of bidirectional charging, where the vehicle acts as a generator to power appliances or even an entire home, the company said.
Kuniskis, who also leads Stellantis’ Dodge brand, declined to comment on whether the technology of the Ramcharger will be used in other vehicles. Other Stellantis brands include Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat in the U.S.
The Ramcharger operates differently from current plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, that offer a range of all-electric driving, followed by an engine powering the vehicle after the battery is depleted.
“The Ramcharger is not a PHEV,” Kuniskis said. “It’s a battery-electric truck with its own onboard, high-speed charger.”
“There’s 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 leading competitors GM and Ford Motor . The latter is offering traditional, hybrid and all-electric versions of its F-150 full-size truck, while GM has said it plans to transition from traditional trucks to electric ones without the use of hybrids.
Stellantis currently offers PHEV versions of vehicles such as the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs.
Bye-bye Hemi
The design of the Ramcharger is a mix between the all-electric Ram 1500 REV and the refreshed gas versions of the traditional trucks, which will be available early next year.
The Ramcharger includes illuminated lines across its grille from the headlamps, new badging that debuted on the all-electric truck and other design and facia elements between the two.
For the traditional Ram 1500 models, the biggest change is the company is dropping its well-known Hemi V-8. Replacing the current 5.7-liter Hemi engine offered in the truck will be a twin-turbocharged, inline-six-cylinder engine called the Hurricane.
Ram’s 2023 Super Bowl ad debuts 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’re not going to have a Hemi in there,” Kuniskis said. “Sure, the Hemi’s an absolute legend. Americans love the Hemi, but this thing flat out outperforms the Hemi.”
The 3.0-liter Hurricane engine is rated at 420 horsepower and 469 foot-pounds of torque, while a high-output version of the engine is rated at 540 horsepower and 521 foot-pounds of torque. That compares with the current V-8 Hemi at 395 horsepower and 410 foot-pounds of torque.
Inline-, or straight-, six-cylinder engines have been used in U.S. vehicles by automakers such as BMW and Jaguar, however, they’re far from mainstream in the U.S.
Other changes to the trucks 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 Hemi 6.2-liter V-8 capable of 702 horsepower and 650 foot-pounds of torque.
It’s a way of saying that, EVs are a farce. When the battery runs out, which is always, then the ICE machinery takes over for hundreds of miles, and no need to recharge since, the ICE parts can be ‘recharged’ easily and quickly with no need for the Ev side to be engaged. IOW, it’s an ICE vehicle which attempts to please the EV/environmental wackos.
Who is going to use the EV side once hey discover that the ICE side is all they need. Which means that, anybody buying the thing is deluding themselves and paying a whole lot more for a vehicle which is essentially an ICE vehicle.
“Thank regulator nazis and xiden for this insanity.”
The good news is it will be half chicom, (boycotted) way overpriced for the average user, unable to tow, the gas-powered generator is worthless on any notable distance for the average pick-up user. These automakers are gonna take a bath on this crap driving the other ICE vehicles way up in price too to help cover their losses. It’s a lose-lose-lose situation for all sides and especially us taxpayers who have to pay for this BS via subsidies.
"Useful idiots"?
Yeah, them too. Unfortunately, some spew forth here at FR.
Um, no.
This is where we are headed without armed intervention against those who wield their ballots against the US Constitution:
First the automakers are ‘saved’ by the behemoth government.
Then, if you want to exercise your right to travel NOT on public transportation or gig services, you agree to deduct your paycheck for LFG (lease from government) to grant you rights to use an EV (with limited range and social credit limitations).
This is where I butt heads with FReepers on EVs:
If the government is pushing it in opposition to the market, it is universally BAD.
EVs under the current regime are a symptom of the looming death of the Republic.
Isn’t this how the USN’s subs were powered before
Yes it’s why it was replaced by nukes
If the so called engineers are worth their salt they would come up an alternator system in the drive line to make the EV charge itself.
Things will change big time after a few Elites get incinerated in an electric vehicle fire
“Maybe I’m overlooking something.”
I guess I am, also. Yours were exactly my questions.
So it’s a hybrid and it’s ridiculous
You do have a good point, mine was from a free market perspective growing up in Ford-ish family in the Detroit area. However that idea appears to be a thing of the past these days. I have stated many times on this board that this country is going to collapse under it’s $40 trillion debt by the end of the decade anyway. Have no idea what comes after that but the EVs and the market for them will be gone soon enough.
So... a hybrid. What a new concept!
Anything with both batteries/electric motors and a gasoline engine is a hybrid. You can configure the drive train many ways, but it is a hybrid electric/ICE.
That is one of 2 million presold Tesla Cyber Trucks that will be available the end of this month
It is more than just a truck although it is designed from scratch to serve as a pickup truck
It takes a 3.6L V6 to charge the battery?
It was reported this morning that the interest on the debt just exceeded $1 trillion.
I was slow to accept it, but I’m now convinced that they are colluding with wef to collapse the world financial markets to remake it in their own, globalist image.
Kinda overkill I’d say....................🤦♂️🤷♂️👍................
It is butt-ugly, but if Musk had a hand in it, perhaps it will be useful.
Does look like an El Camino put through a crusher and then unfolded again.
So this the transgender version of a pickup truck.
Like when a guy believes he’s a female but can’t bring himself to cut off his pecker and get the hot pocket surgery. Even with implanted boobs he’s still a dude dressing up as a woman with a well documented mental illness.
True story: a few years back I took a BMW i3 on an overnight test drive. Back then the i3 came in two versions...one had a (small)auxiliary engine and the other one didn't. Mine had the engine.
The engine wasn't connected to the drivetrain in any way. Its sole function...its sole capability...was to charge the battery. Long story short...despite having owned several BMWs and really respected the brand this i3 was a huge disappointment.I'd walk before I owned one.
LOL!
It’s not a 40kw generator, it’s 130kw!
“Stellantis estimates the range of the Ramcharger to be up to 690 miles, including up to 145 miles powered by a 92 kilowatt-hour battery when fully charged without the extended-range power from the gas engine and 130 kilowatt electric generator.”
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