Ram reveals EV pickup concept that will compete against Ford, GM and Rivian
Add another entrant to the high-stakes EV truck battlefield.
At CES from Las Vegas, Ram Trucks ( STLA ) unveiled the Ram Revolution 1500 EV concept, a full-size pickup truck that will likely foreshadow a production version that Ram says we’ll see later this year.
The production version, which is slated for 2024, will face stiff competition in the full-size pickup space, with the Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Silverado EV already on sale at that time.
However, the Ram 1500 Revolution has some interesting features. While the concept has “grand saloon”-style doors that open and likely won’t appear on the production version, one feature that will likely remain is what Ram is calling an industry first: bucket seats in the third line.
Ram Revolution 1500 EV Concept (credit: Ram)
Ram says the truck’s mid-gate can be retracted to reveal the mounted seats, which can also be removed to allow for multiple flexible seating configurations. Ram also says that when the midgate is retracted, the full length of the car is available for long loads, enabling a pass-through (which includes the undercarriage) that can accommodate objects up to 18 feet. tall.
Ram says the concept is based on the STLA Frame body-on-frame chassis that has been built specifically for electric vehicles, and in this case will have two electric drive modules (EDM) to provide all-wheel drive.
No other specifications were given in the reveal, but the truck would be expected to have similar features to the competition along with similar pricing.
Ram Revolution 1500 EV Concept (credit: Ram)
Ram says it faced a number of challenges creating an EV pickup truck to appeal to its customers. “First of all the packaging of the batteries, because the batteries are very, very heavy,” Mike Koval, CEO of Ram Brands, said of one of the biggest challenges in an interview with Yahoo Finance from Las Vegas.
“I think research continues to suggest and support that truckers, even current buyers, are increasingly open to the idea of electrification in their trucks, but they’re telling us time and time again, please don’t compromise, don’t sacrifice the core attributes we care about the most – which historically have been payload and drag,” Koval said.
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Koval said that range and charging time are the main desires of the customer, so Ram engineers had to create an architecture that would be able to support the weight of the battery.
Because of the smaller electric motors used, Ram engineers can widen the cabin by 4 inches, which in the automotive world is huge to create more space and luxury in the cabin. Ram trucks are known for some of the best, if not the best, interiors of any truck series, and Koval says their customers expect that part of the equation to remain in every truck they make.
Ram Revolution 1500 EV Concept (credit: Ram)
Koval says its creature comforts like a larger cabin, the Revolution EV’s flexibility for mixed use cases, battery capacity (which some rumors say could be 500 miles) and propulsion systems (a hybrid truck for extended of the beam may be at work), will help. wins on the sales floor.
“I think that’s ultimately what’s going to help differentiate RAM from the other guys, is that we’re going to bring a better set of solutions to market from 2024 that I think will meet better meet the needs of real-world customers as we transition to electrification.” he says.
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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
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