(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect changes in the Ram’s production schedule and more.)
Three months after showing off a concept battery-powered pickup, Ram has pulled the wraps off the real thing, the all-electric 2025 Ram 1500 REV making its debut at the 2023 New York International Auto Show.
While not quite as radical looking as the Ram Revolution show car that debuted at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the Ram 1500 REV promises to deliver a number of features that should appeal to traditional truck buyers, as well as early EV adopters.
Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. confirmed an additional version called the Rev XR will be announced later this year. It will have the long range extender capability, pushing it to the 500-mile range.
“The all-electric Ram 1500 Rev is a monumental milestone on our continued journey to offer the industry’s best electrified solutions and further fortifies our award-winning line-up,” Koval said.
“We believe in bringing the right range of powertrain solutions to our customers and will continue to redefine the pickup truck segment. Our all-new Ram 1500 Rev pushes past the competition in areas customers care about most including range, towing, payload and charge time.”
Koval also took a jab at a competitor during the event, noting “being first is not being the best … because it doesn’t deliver what our customers want and need.” He also noted the brand, which closed the order book after three days, is tweaking a few things to expand production and has reopened the order book at RamRev.com.
“We’re taking (production) up,” he told TheDetroitBureau.com, adding “all of our data tells us truck intenders are the most interest in EVs. We won’t sacrifice” the popular features and function found gas- and diesel-powered pickups because EV truck buyers want that stuff as well.
Ongoing shift
While automakers initially focused on small, highly aerodynamic products as they began to enter into the battery-electric vehicle market, they’ve begun diversifying into more familiar — and popular — product segments. That’s underscored by some of the EVs debuting at the New York show this year, such as the three-row Kia EV9 SUV.
There’s a big push into electrified pickups, with a dozen or more scheduled to be in U.S. showrooms around mid-decade. That includes four already on sale: the Ford F-150 Lightning, the GMC Hummer pickup, the Lordstown Endurance and the Rivian R1T. Chevrolet follows this year with the Silverado 1500 EV, sibling GMC weighing in with a second all-electric truck, the Sierra EV, in 2024. Other brands set to follow include Toyota, Kia, Canoo and others.
Ford has announced a second model, dubbed T3, and Ram has indicated it will also launch a midsize EV pickup. But it begins with the 1500 Rev.
The new Rev
Based on the new Stellantis STLA Frame EV architecture, the production model adopts a more conventional appearance than the Ram Revolution concept. Among other things, it won’t feature the extend-a-bed function, nor offer both a folding midgate and a pass-through into the frunk.
The look of the 1500 REV is still more streamlined than today’s gas- and diesel-powered Ram 1500, designers putting an emphasis on range-enhancing aerodynamics. And it will retain the power-operated front trunk which, based on current competitors, should be the industry’s largest, with 15 cubic feet of storage space.
The truck will also feature the brand’s popular Ram box storage in the bed wall of the pickup.
Ram and its global parent, Stellantis, have frequently been faulted for their late entry into the battery-electric market. But they’re pushing to make up for lost time by surpassing the competition. And the specs the brand quoted on Wednesday suggest the REV will draw plenty of attention:
The top-line version of the electric pickup will make 654 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque, enough to launch it from 0-60 in an estimated 4.4 seconds;
- That will allow it to tow up to a 14,000-pound trailer, and haul payloads of up to 2,700 pounds;
- The truck will able to ford up to 24 inches of water;
- And drivers will be able to get an additional 110 miles of range plugging into high-speed public chargers in as little as 10 minutes.
The Ram 1500 Rev also will have vehicle-to-load, or V2L capabilities. In lay terms, it can be used as a generator at work or campsites, even connected to a home or office’s electrical system to provide backup in case of a blackout. It can provide up to 7.2 kilowatts using an onboard power panel in the cargo bed, or 3.6 kW with a plug in the frunk.
What may prove the biggest draw, however, is range. Where Ford’s F-150 Lightning gets up to 320 miles with an extended-range pack, the Ram 1500 will deliver an estimated 350 miles using a standard 168 kWh lithium-ion pack. An optional 229 kWh pack will take that up to 500 miles, Ram claims. Only the Dream Range version of the Lucid Air sedan currently has a higher rating among all EVs currently on the market.
Ram did not release additional charging times.
More options
The all-electric truck will be offered in five different trim packages, including Tradesman, Big Horn/Lone Star, Laramie, Limited and, introducing an all-new top-level trim, Tungsten. Pricing was not yet revealed.
Depending upon the model grade, the truck will be available with a variety of features and finishes. That will include luxury touches, such as leather seating or a power lift gate on high-line models.
And there will be plenty of high-tech features, as well, including the latest Uconnect 5 infotainment system. It will be controlled by a 14.5-inch touchscreen, with higher trims offering both a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a segment-first 10.25-inch screen for passengers. Ram 1500 also will be offered with a head-up display and a digital rearview mirror.
The vehicle will also offer a smart key and, down the road, hands-free Active Driving capability.
For now, the automaker is only saying that the Ram 1500 Rev will begin production sometime next year as a 2025 model.