Stellantis’ new Ram pickup is an EV — with a gas-powered generator in case the battery runs out. The end of the Hemi???

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2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Tungsten
  • 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.”

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.”

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2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Tungsten

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.

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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.

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.

“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.

Article courtesy of Michael Wayland with CNBC.com
 

KalboKalbs

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I'll never by any electric vehicle. They cause more pollution than they claim to save. Look up the leech fields for the batteries, the mines, toxic fumes released in the manufacturing process. Also, lithium batteries explode when they come in contact with salt water. Etc...

^^^ Wish everyone knew this. ^^^
 

Nico70

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So it's got a conventional 3.6L engine and 27 gallon tank?

Runs on electric til the battery dies, then the engine takes over to power the electric?

So, the weight of a conventional truck PLUS an EV battery? Sounds like it will have incredible towing range.....

Just a bit confused.

Bet it will be affordable, too.

Hard pass.
I am absolutely 100% with you.. not for me at all...
 

skates15

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I'll never by any electric vehicle. They cause more pollution than they claim to save. Look up the leech fields for the batteries, the mines, toxic fumes released in the manufacturing process. Also, lithium batteries explode when they come in contact with salt water. Etc...
Yeah, the leech ponds are super nasty, same as the mining of Cobol to cool the batteries.
 

kevkev

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Ahhh-NO. Reminds me of the video with the electric truck stuck on the side of the road with a generator in the bed to recharge the batteries.
 

LugsLeadOut84

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One EV JOKE
At a weekend Big Car Show this last week or two.
An announcement was made that an EV drove around the World, first EV to do it.
They were so proud of themselves, the drove an average of 128 miles a day !! They also stated they made the best mileage in the USA, because of all the CHARGING Stations.
ACTUALLY, Europe makes for better travel, because they have been using EV so much longer


View attachment 537990

The 2nd thing is so close to MISLEADING, it is almost a right out FIB

A certain person that lives on Pennsylvania Ave.
Made a statement just last week:

He said that he was going to ROLL BACK the mandated Electric Vehicle Mandate, so now it will be some something like 2030something

Sounds great, well it is no longer in his power to do that, it is just a VOTE getter.

Now if all the Committees & Boards made that statement, it might be believable.
The EPA, the ZERO EMISSIONS Group, ETC. have sent out all the mandates, it is cast in Stone so to speak.
Right after the Elections, mr. forgetful would change things back, if he actually controlled it

For what it's worth.....Over the past year, I was in 3 European countries...Poland (drove across it approx. 1,100 miles - or should I say 1170 km's?), and did fair vehicle travel in Spain and Portugal. I did not see one large charging lot resembling the picture above. I saw more EV's than here but there are still way more ICM's running around.
 

mikeru

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For what it's worth.....Over the past year, I was in 3 European countries...Poland (drove across it approx. 1,100 miles - or should I say 1170 km's?), and did fair vehicle travel in Spain and Portugal. I did not see one large charging lot resembling the picture above. I saw more EV's than here but there are still way more ICM's running around.
Yeah, similar experience in Italy for me last fall. I spent 2 weeks driving almost a thousand kilometers across central and northern parts of the country. There were EV's peppered in but the vast majority of cars and trucks were ICE. I didn't make it a point to look for them but I don't remember seeing any charging stations. Tons of gas stations though.
 

HEMIMANN

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You guys see the Musk-mobile cosmo-truck getting stuck in snow recently? Yeah, that's the machine for us here in the upper midwest and Canada.

Will be interesting to see how Stellantis' new little Beemer engine holds up over the 1st 2-3 years in a pickup truck, even though half ton trucks are mostly grocery-getters not seeing much load. They're still a bit heavier than cars, and 3.0 liters isn't much displacement. You can only boost cylinder pressure so high with a turbo before detonating and blowing the heads off a gasoline sparker.

For this reason, the new motor absolutely requires premium gasoline only. Not too interested in driving science fair machinery. Just look at all the trouble the diesel guys have now days with all the exhaust aftertreatment crap.
 

andygl

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You guys see the Musk-mobile cosmo-truck getting stuck in snow recently? Yeah, that's the machine for us here in the upper midwest and Canada.

Will be interesting to see how Stellantis' new little Beemer engine holds up over the 1st 2-3 years in a pickup truck, even though half ton trucks are mostly grocery-getters not seeing much load. They're still a bit heavier than cars, and 3.0 liters isn't much displacement. You can only boost cylinder pressure so high with a turbo before detonating and blowing the heads off a gasoline sparker.

For this reason, the new motor absolutely requires premium gasoline only. Not too interested in driving science fair machinery. Just look at all the trouble the diesel guys have now days with all the exhaust aftertreatment crap.
As you said - most of the trucks are grocery-getters. For them - the little Beemer engine will never run (almost never). It would live indefinitely.
Almost nobody drives more than 140+ miles daily for groceries :)

P.S. My truck is like this - "grocery-getter", except for ~monthly towing of an 8000 lb camper.
 

leftchevybehind

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Eventually, more people will buy these EVs but until the US has adequate infrastructure to support all these EVs. But I'll want a backup gas or diesel powered vehicle for sure. Worst case scenario, I'll ride my horses along the road like Red Dead Redemption.

But on a serious note, I do keep a charged Jackery in my truck for that "onboard power" for tools when I need it - and since I have eTorque. Hybrid Enough.
 

Marshall

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Ahhh-NO. Reminds me of the video with the electric truck stuck on the side of the road with a generator in the bed to recharge the batteries.
Hehe, The daughter sent me a picture from Paris I think it was , I have posted it before , but WTH, Nothing better to do.:burnout:
 

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Dan Topp

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I panicked when everyone was saying 25 would have a ev slant with nearly all the car manufacturers.I was happy with the hemi I got in 19 so I went back to griffin dodge to get a gr Cherokee with a hemi and they couldn’t do it.So after looking at all the others we got a xt5.I wanted the hemi since I spent so much money on a procharger,and was prepared for anything that could break,now at 1300 miles it already is going back wed. for a electronics problem.
 

Dan Topp

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I’m seeing Tesla trucks are shutting down expressways because the crash tests are great up to 35 mph. It took a plane dropping fire retardant on top of the hole in the ozone layer the proponents of the ev push claim they’re helping.Sad if you can get something positive out of all those battery bombs driving around us.
 

tron67j

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I just saw a recent news article about a EV fire on a mountain pass, they shut the road down for I think at least a day to let it burn itself out. Just too remote to do much else, had to set up tanker runs just to keep it controlled as much as they could.
 

KalboKalbs

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I just saw a recent news article about a EV fire on a mountain pass, they shut the road down for I think at least a day to let it burn itself out. Just too remote to do much else, had to set up tanker runs just to keep it controlled as much as they could.
~16 hours I-80. Sierras. Near Nyack Rd, West of Truckee.

Lots of coverage by searching, Tesla Semi fire Sierras.
 

Marshall

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I wonder, a big hole in the ditch about 10 ft deep and bury the crap
Would that put it out?
Problem would be have the equipment to get close enough to the fire
Couple bad fires around here this week, one was combine fire in a field that took out a old farm yard
Other power pole started a fire that took out a bunch of hay and a huge pile of tires
That burned for 2 days, closed #1 highway for a while
 

Docwagon1776

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I wonder, a big hole in the ditch about 10 ft deep and bury the crap
Would that put it out?

Lithium batteries can't bring their own oxygen to the party like some chemical fires can, so anything that completely cuts off oxygen access will smother the fire. I suspect the logistics safely digging in areas where underground utilities may be located, of moving it to the hole, and ground water contamination concerns this probably would be ruled out as a default approach, though.
 
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