2024 Ram 1500 to go electric with 800km-plus EV range
American truck maker Ram has confirmed its 1500 ute will be available as a battery electric vehicle (EV) from 2024.
The radical new EV pickup truck will adopt new styling and a new architecture with heavy duty towing capability and an EV range in excess of 800km.
Announced during the EV Day by parent company Stellantis, Ram CEO Mike Koval said the new all-electric 1500 would be “the right product for the right time”.
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Despite announcing its all-electric pick-up truck after rivals Ford, Chevrolet and Hummer, Ram says it will redefine the electric ute, which is set to include more than a dozen competitors, including the recently-launched Ford F-150 Lightning and the promised Tesla Cybertruck.
“We are not following in the footsteps of our competitors,” said Koval.
“Our plan is on track to start production on the class shattering Ram 1500 battery electric vehicle in 2024.”
While an EV is front and centre with Ram’s bold electric plan, the company will continue making ICE versions of the Ram.
“Ram will differentiate itself from competitors by offering a full portfolio of electrified solutions to better meet these customer needs.”
Ram says it will also offer something it labels REPB, or range electric paradigm breaker. Promising to have “all the driving characteristics of BEVs with real world range and flexibility”, it sounds as though it could be a series hybrid setup similar to Nissan’s ePower, whereby electric motors drive the wheels but conventional engines act as a generator to supply electricity.
“Challenging convention, we will push past what competitors have announced, past what the customer expects to as fuller portfolio of technology with more range, more power, more productivity and more convenience,” said Koval.
The new Ram 1500 electric will ride on a new architecture Stellantis is calling STLA Frame.
Early images suggest the chassis can take a full-sized spare tyre and will utilise a traditional ladder frame construction incorporating battery packs down low.
Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles says the architecture is currently being worked on with the engineering department and will have “similar ideals” to the other three platforms the automotive giant is creating for its future EVs.
“The battery pack is nice and low, nestled in a strong frame, the EDM motors at the edges … outstanding capability,” said Gilles in the online presentation.
He also said an EV construction will allow Ram to reimagine the design of the 1500, adding STLA Frame also provides “an opportunity to redefine what the full-sized truck looks like but also how it works”.
Gilles said there will be “some pretty cool looking Ram trucks coming your way”.
Key to the Ram 1500 EV will be electric range.
The STLA Frame is claimed to accept battery capacities ranging from 159kWh to more than 200kWh, for an EV range of more than 800km.
DC fast charging will be capable at up to 150kW.
Ram is also promising “smart storage solutions” and “uncompromised capability”. It also says the instant torque will lead to “enhanced towing”.
No word yet on whether the new electric Ram 1500 will come to Australia, although considering the Ram 1500 is already converted to right-hand drive locally it seems a fair chance.
“We are very excited by the commitment and focus Stellantis is putting on electrification as well as developing the most capable and sustainable four-wheel drive vehicles in the world,” said a Stellantis Australia spokesperson in a statement.
“We believe the demand and acceptance of electric vehicles will accelerate in Australia and New Zealand and we are currently looking at which products will work best for each country. We look forward to sharing our electrification plan in due course.”
