Ram Cuts Electric Pickup To Focus On Range-Extended Model
As automakers attempt a shift to electrification, the lead times between a vehicle’s announcement and on-sale dates have grown. That has caused headaches for many companies as buyers’ preferences and the economic environment change rapidly, including Ram, which is canceling its long-awaited electric pickup to focus on its soon-to-be-released range-extended model.
Ram’s statement on the truck reads, “As demand for full-size battery-electric trucks slows in North America, Stellantis is reassessing its product strategy and will discontinue development of a full-size BEV pickup. As part of this Ram is renaming its REEV-powered pickup to Ram 1500 REV (formerly Ramcharger). This vehicle will set a new benchmark in the half-ton segment, offering exceptional range, towing capability and payload performance.
The switcheroo is a bit confusing, but Ram basically cut the electric truck and renamed the range-extended truck. It’s a bummer to lose the electric model before it even made it through the starting gates, but the range-extended Ram sports some pretty impressive specs.
It offers a 14,000-pound tow rating and up to 2,625 pounds of payload. It’s powered by two electric drive motors and a 92-kWh battery, and it carries a Pentastar V6 engine that acts as a generator to charge the battery. While it’s not connected to the wheels, the engine helps the truck far surpass normal EV range numbers, though it will still require charging.
[Images: Ram]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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- Vid169489471 The technology exists today to produce a variable color temperature (kelvin) LED lamp. It can vary from 2700k that soft orange look to 6500k the bright daylight with the bluish tint.Since everything in a late model car is computer controlled, it would be an easy task to write a few lines of code that enables your vehicle to not only dim down from hi to low beam but to shift color temp down to the 2700k range for oncoming traffic, then back up to 5000k once oncoming traffic has passed. For the operator it would be automatic and seamless. For older cars they could be retrofitted with LEDs that are 2700k on low beam and 5000k on hi beam. As far as standards, there could be a lumens max, and a minimum. Several States already have minimum lumen standards going back to the old incandescent bulbs. Why not update these to national standards.
- Jam169859557 More regulation is needed for ALL vehicle lighting systems. [list=1][*]The lighting that is most blinding are the rapidly flashing red, blue and amber lights on emergency vehicles. The lights themselves are blinding, flashing so rapidly that it's impossible for even the sharpest eyes to adjust. What's worse, is the nature of the emergency requires a careful view of the area surrounding the emergency vehicle. There is something going on that needs to be seen. More flashing lights is not the solution.[/*][*]Brighter headlights need to be regulated. The tall riding vehicles do not need headlights positioned so high that they blind drivers in lower riding vehicles. And those heasdlights need to be aimed properly. When I first started driving my 2020 Subaru Outback, many drivers would flash their lights, hoping I would dim my lights. This stopped after I performed am easy adjustment that tilted the beam lower. Late model Subaru headlamps are designed with a sharp cutoff that project less glare above the hood line. When the headlights are properly aimed, other drivers are not blinded by the beam.[/*][*]Customized light assemblies make it more difficult to see the marker lights (tail lamps, turn signals and side marker lamps) that have been tinted. There are many municiple codes that prohibit this tinting, but these laws are seldom enforced.[/*][/list=1]Solutions: Tight controls on emergency vehicle lighting. In trying to make these vehicles more visible, a dangerous side effect is reducing the ability of drivers to see the surrounding perils.Headlight design regulations that reduce the height of the headlight assemblies. Just because a pickup truck has a hood that sits 4 feet abouve the pavement, it does not mean the headlights need to be so high. Owneres should maintain proper adjustments to their vehicle headlights.Establish and enforce regulation requiring a illumination standard be followed.
- Stl170698708 as someone who hates big government, and their interference;but you can add me to the list of people that are blinded by the lights.unfortunately "the poop is out of the horse and no way is it going back in"They have had 5 years to make lights bigger, badder and brighter because in the vehicle work it is go big or go home!Trucks are the worst because so many people use them to express their dominance and that is big, big, big $$ both at the Original Purchase and in the Aftermarket world.If, we are so lucky to get some good government regulation on this it will also take some very good Court enforcement to get the aftermarket people with fines and lawsuits.Much like the EPA did with the Diesel Tuner Industry that felt emission regulations didn't apply to them.This is from someone that owns said pickup truck with the same bright headlights,but i only use the truck when I have too and always turn off the Fog lights when driving in traffic.
- Art65765977 I saw a porsche 911 with the most amazing headlights from behind approaching the Sunshine skyway in Florida. The pattern was 108 degrees across sweeping the road like a broom. My brother and I were amazed. I don't know what it looked like from the front but i am sure it was better than American cars
- Master Baiter This is what happens when you take a chance on a startup auto company. Designing and building cars is hard.
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I have owned several Rams starting with Cummins Diesels (Pre DEF/DPF) and currently a Pentastar 1500. The range extended/Generator only/electric drive PentaStar caught my eye when it was announced several years ago. In my head it would be the first choice to explore if I needed to replace my current 1500. I have now owned my first Hybrid (Camry AWD) for about 6 months. I know exactly why Toyota is doubling down on the Hybrid over the All electric, and glad to see Ram is doing the same.
Full EV has its place in commuter car/ closed loop like airport shuttle, maybe even heavy vehicle like local delivery or school bus. But for myself and others Full EV simply doesn't fit the way we use cars in our regular lives.
Long awaited? By whom? EV trucks have little demand as sales figures prove out. Shorting production hours, outright manufacturing stoppages, etc. The surprise is Ram making such a sound business decision.