DETROIT (AP) — When a futuristic-looking Ram electric pickup hits the market next year, it’s unlikely to be first in line.
By then, at least seven EV competitors are said to be available for sale, all vying for a share of the massive full-size truck market that now includes the top three selling gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles in the United States.
Four models — Ford’s F-150 Lightning, Rivian’s R1T, Lordstown Motors’ Endurance and the GMC Hummer EV pickup — are already on the road. And three more — the Chevrolet Silverado EV, the GMC Sierra EV, and Tesla’s Cybertruck — are slated for release this year or next.
Still, executives at Ram, Stellantis’ truck and commercial vehicle brand, say they don’t mind following their competitors rather than leading them.
“It’s actually an advantage for us,” Ram brand CEO Mike Koval Jr. said in an interview. “Because we know exactly what the other guys announced.”
Company executives unveiled a concept version of the Ram 1500 Revolution battery-powered truck at the CES Gadget Show in Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon. The production truck likely won’t be as boxy as the one shown on stage, which looks like a halfway point between Tesla’s angular Cybertruck and a traditional gas pickup truck. But the Ram EV, Koval said, will outperform the competition in the areas customers value most: payload, towing capacity, range and technology.
GM has announced that the Silverado EV can go over 400 miles (640 kilometers) on a single charge. (Its competitors have ranges of between 230 and 400 miles, depending on battery size.) Koval insists the production Ram will “surpass anything our competitors have announced.”
By next year, there will be more charging stations and other infrastructure, making the electric vehicle market more attractive.
Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds.com, said the Ram won’t be too late to market as the electric trucks on sale now can’t fully meet continued growth in consumer demand.
GM says more than 170,000 people have made $100 refundable deposits on the Sierra. Last year, Ford sold over 15,000 Lightning trucks, even though the vehicles weren’t available until May. The company closed reservations after receiving a $100 deposit from nearly 200,000 potential buyers.
Last year, Americans bought more than 2.1 million full-size pickup trucks, most of which still run on gasoline. Large pickups accounted for more than 15% of all new vehicle sales in the US, a huge and lucrative market. Sales of electric vehicles are growing fast: 807,000 of them were sold in the United States last year – 65% more than in 2021.
The prices of the comparatively expensive EV trucks need to converge with the gasoline versions to poach buyers, said Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive.
Ford’s electric pickup was originally supposed to have a version starting at around $40,000. But the starting price is now just under $56,000, driven by demand and commodity price increases. That’s far more than the gas-powered F-150, which starts at just under $34,000.
“The problem with pricing,” Krebs said, “is the rising cost of building electric vehicles. The prices for lithium and other (battery) minerals are high.”
Automakers say prices should fall as companies spread costs across more vehicles and breakthroughs in battery chemistry reduce the amount or even eliminate minerals now needed for energy storage.
Koval says he’s aware that the electric Ram needs to appeal to both customers who want base-model working versions and those who want higher-priced luxury and technology — even at “insane” raw material costs.
“We’ll try to have something for everyone,” he said, “but with that critical price point in mind.”
The truck will also offer 350-kilowatt fast charging that can add up to 100 miles of range in about 10 minutes, a large interior accessible through “sedan-style” doors, with a multi-configuration interior.
It may be a while before people abandon their gas-powered trucks, Krebs concedes. In the Midwestern states and Texas, where most pickup trucks are sold, there aren’t many EV charging stations that allow for longer trips.
Electric trucks can also be attractive to companies looking to buy fleets of work vehicles and receive tax credits and avoid paying for gas.
Caldwell believes the electric pickup truck market will include buyers who use them for work and those who would otherwise buy an electric SUV for personal use.
Electric trucks, she said, “give people who might have been wary about (an electric vehicle) more reason to buy.”