Charged EVs | Electrical Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Idea pickup truck revealed at CES

It’s reportedly shut in exterior design to the manufacturing mannequin we’ll see inside months

Ram Vans, the US truck arm of worldwide automaker Stellantis, took the wraps off what it referred to as the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Idea truck on Thursday on the Client Electronics Present in Las Vegas. The manufacturing model of this absolutely electrical, full-size pickup truck shall be revealed inside months, with gross sales to start out throughout 2024, most certainly within the second half of the yr.

Ram is the final of the three Detroit makers to unveil a battery-electric pickup truck: the Ford F-150 Lightning went into manufacturing final April, and gross sales of the Chevrolet Silverado EV are supposed to start out this yr. It’s constructed on the “STLA Body” structure, the biggest of 4 completely different electric-vehicle platforms and the one one that includes body-on-frame building.

Regardless of rumors of a plug-in hybrid powertrain, the Ram idea is powered solely by a big battery pack—with “unofficial stories” suggesting two accessible battery capacities of 159 and 200 kilowatt-hours, according to InsideEVs. Ram says it might probably cost at 800 volts, claiming customers may add 100 miles of vary in 10 minutes (a rigorously chosen statistic that assumes a largely depleted pack, optimum temperatures, and different best situations).

‘Paradigm breaker’ plug-in hybrid to come back

Mike Koval, CEO of the Ram model, spoke with Charged EVs however declined to offer or verify any specs for the brand new truck. The idea is a design train that previews future Ram vehicles, he mentioned, all of which shall be ‘electrified’ by 2030—each light- and heavy-duty variations.

Koval mentioned the 800-volt charging could be accompanied by extra typical 400-volt charging as properly. However he demurred on the query of whether or not Ram used an 800-volt battery structure or just a pair of stacked 400-volt packs with a sequence/parallel swap to cost at 800 volts—which is the method GM has taken to offering charging above 150 kilowatts for its Hummer EV and different vehicles with very massive packs.

Ram did say the idea was powered by two motors, one at every axle, and included air suspension with three top modes: ingress/egress, aero, and off-road. It would even have four-wheel steering, with the rear wheels capable of angle as much as 15 levels, a characteristic first seen on electrical vehicles within the GMC Hummer EV launched final yr.

However Koval hinted at additional powertrain choices to come back. “The one factor our range-extended paradigm breaker will do is present real-world vary,” he mentioned, to counter the low towing vary of all present battery-electric pickups. He extra explicitly confirmed a future plug-in hybrid option to Inexperienced Automobile Stories, so anticipate extra information on a variety extender within the coming months.

Expressive styling, ‘white-knuckle’ efficiency

The U.S. arm of Stellantis (nee Fiat Chrysler) used efficiency to take advantage of out of an growing old line of autos, placing its Hemi V-8 engine and numerous alluring exhaust notes into Dodges, Jeeps, and Ram pickups. So the upcoming electrical Ram 1500 “in fact may have white-knuckle efficiency,” Koval mentioned, specifying each “acceleration and nice driving dynamics,” the latter not essentially a characteristic of any full-size pickup to this point.

That “white-knuckle” descriptor might apply solely to higher-end fashions. Over time, Koval mentioned, the Ram 1500 EV lineup will echo the trim choices of the present Ram gasoline fashions, from Tradesman work vehicles all the way in which as much as the Longhorn ultra-luxury trim. Excessive acceleration shouldn’t be essentially what fleet-truck patrons need to supply their drivers, so anticipate the low-end, white-painted electrical Ram vehicles to supply extra sedate efficiency.

All of them ought to stand out in design, although. In contrast to the graceful flanks of Ford’s F-150 Lightning, the rear fenders of the Ram REVolution idea bulge out from the physique and carve deeply into the again finish of the cab. They’ll accommodate tires as much as 35 inches, Ram says; the idea truck rides on 24-inch wheels. The entrance finish pioneers a brand new face for the Ram model, with twin “tuning fork” headlights flanking the R-A-M brand that wrap across the corners of a entrance finish that seems visually decrease than previous upright Ram designs.

‘Saloon doorways’

Like a Rolls-Royce, the idea truck has what Ram calls “saloon fashion” doorways that open from both finish of the cab (the rear doorways are rear-hinged) to eradicate the middle pillar and open all the cab aspect for entry. It appears unlikely this characteristic will survive into manufacturing vehicles, although it’s not exterior the bounds of risk. That mentioned, stories counsel the form and exterior design of the truck are pretty near the manufacturing model to be unveiled inside a number of months.

Inside, the idea has a pair of touchscreens—totaling as much as 28 inches of show—with only a few exhausting management knobs. The previous mantra of with the ability to function pickup truck controls whereas carrying work gloves doesn’t seem remotely suitable with the brand new, streamlined, all-digital inside.

We’d anticipate an easier, smaller display screen with extra typical controls in at the very least the Tradesman variations of the electrical Ram, after they arrive. These work-truck variations may forgo among the powered options of the idea truck, which embody the door handles, tailgate, charge-port door, aspect steps, and rear steps. These are lots of electrical motors that may be eradicated to chop costs for cost-conscious fleet managers.

Storing 18’ lumber contained in the truck

Like Chevy’s Silverado EV (and its non secular predecessor the Chevrolet Avalanche), the Ram idea truck has a folding “mid-gate” behind the cab, behind the rear seat, that lets house owners use the again half of the cabin as an extension of the cargo mattress, boosting space for storing significantly.

As a result of the cabin is 4 inches longer than the present Ram, courtesy of house saved by a shorter nostril, the midgate can have a pair of leap seats along with the second row seats. They are often mounted contained in the cabin or within the mattress, evoking shades of the Subaru BRAT of 40 years in the past.

However Ram has included a characteristic that one-ups each the F-150 Lightning (with its lockable “Mega Energy Frunk”) and the Silverado EV’s midgate. The idea truck can retailer lumber as much as 18 ft lengthy fully contained in the truck, courtesy of not solely the midgate, however a detachable heart console and a second opening, within the toeboard, that provides a flat floor from the mattress all the way in which into the entrance trunk. That’s a characteristic beforehand seen solely on prototype Bollinger EV pickup vehicles, and it ought to wow truck patrons who’ve needed to hold lengthy lumber out the backs of their truck beds.

Ram additionally used CES to point out a brand new inductive robotic charger (cutely referred to as ‘Ram Charger’) that it says will observe an EV’s presence, detect its state of cost, and transfer itself into place below the automobile.