Another rival to the GMC Hummer EV will eventually join the increasingly crowded battery-electric truck space, with Fiat Chrysler confirming plans to build a new Ram EV pickup in the not-too-distant future.
During a conference call with analysts this week, FCA CEO Mike Manley confirmed the automaker is working on a battery-pwoered Ram EV pickup of some sort, but said it did not have anything to announce just yet.
“I do see that there will be an electrified Ram pickup in the marketplace, and I would ask you just to stay tuned for a little while, and we’ll tell you exactly when that will be,” Manley said, as quoted by The Detroit Free Press.
The GMC Hummer EV will be one of the battery-electric trucks to launch when shipments of the Edition 1 trim level begin next fall. The Hummer EV will join the Rivian R1T and Lordstown Motors Endurance trucks in the growing vehicle space, which are expected to launch earlier in 2021, while the Tesla Cybertruck should arrive sometime late next year too.
Rivian R1T
Ford is currently working on a fully electric version of the F-150 pickup, as well, although the automaker won’t debut the truck until sometime in 2021, so it may still be quite far away from production.
This is the first time FCA has confirmed it is working on a Ram EV truck, though Manley said previously the automaker wouldn’t sit on the sidelines and watch “if there is a danger that (Ram’s competitive) position gets diluted going forward.” Not surprisingly, these comments come just after GM pulled the veil from its new GMC Hummer EV, which is available with a 1,000 horsepower tri-motor powertrain and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just three seconds.
Ram debuted the new Rebel TRX earlier this year, which features a supercharged 6.2L V8 engine producing 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque and can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. This will make the Rebel TRX the most powerful production pickup for a brief period in time, until the 1,000 horsepower Hummer EV Edition 1 comes along next fall. The Hummer EV will be built at GM’s Factory Zero plant in Detroit, which was renamed from Detroit-Hamtramck this year and is undergoing extensive renovations.
Comments
Fiat has been spending all their money putting the Hellcat in everything. Oh, and buying pollution credits from Tesla to offset the impact from the Hellcats. They’ve done nothing to start working on an EV platform. Maybe they’ve started looking at adding EV to the current Ram platform.
Not sure yet if Peugeot has significant EV development that they could tap into. Or maybe they provide more financial support to Tesla by buying a platform from them?
My guess is they’re 3-5 years out from an electric Ram.
Actually if you think about it…Legacy Auto makers (FCA the most by far) have been paying Tesla money for years so they can actually keep building Gigafactories to further their lead in the EV market instead of them just Building EV’s themselves to try to squash a Startup like Tesla.
It is kinda crazy if you think about it in that way.
He said “electrified Ram”, he didn’t say EV. My guess is they’ll take the Pacifica Hybrid battery and motors and transplant it into the Ram, likely paired to the 5.7
I respectfully disagree Andrew. With gm and Ford coming with a full E truck, i would think Ram will have to do a apples to apples thing and go full E on the Ram. Doesn’t Ram already have an e-torque hybrid setup in the Ram.
Ford is bringing a hybrid first, next year, their EV is years away. FCA has no good EV framework. In fact most of their strategy is stretching legacy tech on and on and on.
And the etorque is a mild hybrid at best, it essentially replaces the alternator and helps during start-stop cycles.
Look towards the Pacifica Hybrid or upcoming Jeep 4XE as what to expect from Ram.
I’m with Andrew. FCA has shown next to no desire to move beyond Hellcats into electric vehicles. And it’s not just EV tech, that’s been a Chrysler hallmark for decades, they’re always way behind the curve on new tech and changing tides.
I LOVE a good Hemi V8, but there’s no doubt that this coming “E-Ram” won’t be full-on electric, because FCA doesn’t have the tech nor the determination to go that far. They’ll continue to lag way behind playing the “let’s stuff a Hellcat in every vehicle we sell” strategy.
They’ll let others develop the tech then as soon as a supplier can produce a price competitive package they source it
My guess would be a Plug in Hybrid for the Ram
The EV RAM will probably come without batteries and a bed full of retractable extension cords.
Probably egg on their face after the Hummer unveiling showcasing their 7 mpg, 700hp Jethro Hello-kitty truck..
Sounds like FCA knows they’re behind the ball compared to GM, Ford, VW…well everyone when it comes to EVs
There is a reason FCA had to sell out to PSA Group…..my bad Merged HAHA
FCA would be better off going in with a startup like Ford did with Rivian. The electric F150 will be the Rivian tech under the skin. There are plenty of EV startups looking for the manufacturing logistic skills that GM, Ford, and Fiat have.
FCA trucks are now plainly better than anything GM makes. I suggest GM concentrate more on traditional vehicles than electric vehicles few will buy. They have now fallen significantly behind both FCA and Ford in truck design.
Fire incompetent Marry Barra, there’s no future for EV… we want coal burners… wut, FCA doesn’t belong GM?