Stellantis
2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Tungsten
CNN –
Stellantis’ new Ramcharger pickup, expected to go on sale late next year, will be an “electric” truck, the company says. But it will actually be a hybrid, with a gasoline engine under the hood, the company announced Tuesday.
It will be sold alongside the Ram REV, the company’s actual all-electric truck, which is expected to launch around the same time.
Tim Kuniskis, the head of Stellantis’ Ram truck brand, emphasized during a press conference that the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is not a plug-in hybrid. The main difference, he said, is that the Ramcharger’s 3.6-liter six-cylinder engine is in no way connected to the truck’s wheels. It is simply connected to a generator that can charge the batteries and, in some situations, send power to the electric motors that then drive the wheels.
However, such a configuration is called a “series hybrid” to distinguish it from the more common “parallel hybrid,” in which the gasoline engine can drive the wheels directly, as in a Toyota Prius. The Chevrolet Volt, produced until 2019, was largely a series hybrid, as were the Fisker Karma and many diesel-electric locomotives.
With fully charged batteries, the Ramcharger can travel up to 145 miles without relying 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 relying on gas.
According to Stellantis, with a fully charged battery and a full tank, the Ramcharger should be able to travel a total of about 690 miles before needing to be recharged or refilled. In terms of overall range, that’s comparable to much smaller, lighter non-plug-in hybrid vehicles like the Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Camry.
Additionally, the Ram truck can use DC fast chargers to quickly charge its batteries. Most plug-in hybrids cannot use fast chargers, which provide 100 miles of range in just a few minutes.
Ram previously unveiled an all-electric truck, the Ram REV, which will also go on sale late next year. This truck can travel up to 500 miles on a full charge, but it doesn’t have the Ramcharger’s gasoline engine.
The company is selling both the Ram REV and Ramcharger to have another product it can sell to people who want to buy an electric pickup but are still worried about range anxiety, Kuniskis said.
“A battery-electric vehicle offers so many advantages. But there are certain things that slow people down. And if I can say that the things that are slowing you down are charging time, range anxiety and infrastructure, then you don’t have to worry about it,” he said.
Ram’s hybrid and electric truck will hit the market long after competitors go on sale. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said he wanted to use the delay to Ram’s advantage because it would allow him to see what consumers think of other electric trucks. Ford and General Motors, both of which have electric trucks for sale, have recently scaled back production or delayed expansion. Electric vehicles have generally been sold at significant discounts in recent months, suggesting that the relatively high prices of these early battery-powered trucks may be deterring consumers.
While Stellantis hasn’t announced pricing for either electric truck, Kuniskis hinted that pricing for the Ramcharger could be lower than the Ram REV because the range-extended truck has a smaller battery pack. Batteries are the most expensive part of an electric vehicle.
The Ramcharger is powered by two electric motors, one driving the front wheels and the other driving the rear wheels, giving the truck all-wheel drive. Together, the two engines 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 is not mechanically connected to the wheels and no transmission or driveshafts run beneath the passenger cabin, the Ramcharger features the same flat interior floor as the Ram REV. This creates more space inside for comfort and additional storage. Most gas-powered trucks have a bump in the floor to accommodate these mechanical components.