Electrical autos are nice—higher than inner combustion engine autos in nearly each single measurable manner—however many potential EV patrons nonetheless concern the prospect of vary anxiousness. That is exacerbated when the EV in query is a truck, which you may use to haul or tow heavy masses, a scenario that can trigger the expected vary to plummet.
Ram thinks the reply to that drawback is to shrink the battery pack, equip its electrical truck with an onboard generator, and switch the truck into an extended-range electrical automobile (additionally known as an EREV). The result’s the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger, a pickup that propels itself not solely with electrical motors but additionally depends on a V6 gasoline engine to present it much more vary than any pure electrical truck.
The producer is hoping that patrons will respect the truck’s capability to cowl over 100 miles utilizing solely the cost saved in its battery pack whereas not producing any tailpipe emissions within the course of. When the state of cost will get low, you’ll both should cease and plug it in, or the truck will begin burning gasoline to provide electrical energy, providing you with loads of flexibility on the way you need to proceed.
As a result of the combustion engine isn’t linked to the wheels in any manner, the Ramcharger isn’t a plug-in hybrid however an extended-range EV. Learn on to learn the way precisely they differ and why a range-extender could be one of the best answer for an electrical truck and the one manner for it to dethrone the mighty diesel because the workhorse of alternative, no less than till there’s a breakthrough in EV battery expertise.
What Powers The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger?
The Ram 1500 Ramcharger is motivated by a pair of electrical motors, one powering every axle, for a mixed output of 663 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque. It attracts from a liquid-cooled 92 kWh battery pack that offers it a variety of as much as 141 miles on one cost.
That vary ranking isn’t excellent by itself, however with a full tank (it will probably take nearly 28 gallons of gasoline), that vary will be prolonged to 690 miles. The additional vary comes courtesy of a 3.6-liter V6 that’s used solely to drive a generator that makes electrical energy, which matches into the battery pack that then powers the 2 motors.
It’s fairly a sophisticated system, however it’s additionally what makes the 1500 Ramcharger a range-extender EV and never one other kind of electrified automobile. Ram touts this as having “limitless battery vary,” which is a little bit of a stretch, however it simply means you don’t should cease to cost the automobile when the battery runs low, and you may merely fill it up with gasoline.
You’ll be able to DC fast-charge the Ramcharger by way of a Stage 3 charger at as much as 145 kW, which future house owners might select to do, though they are going to most likely select the simple manner and simply fill it up with gasoline, letting the generator do the charging. Ram hasn’t introduced the automobile’s effectivity ranking, but when different comparable programs are something to go by, it needs to be higher on gasoline and have decrease emissions than a comparable pure ICE truck.
It’s price noting that having the battery totally charged earlier than setting off (even with a full tank of fuel) will enable the Ramcharger to run at its best, since for in regards to the first 100 or so miles of your journey, the V6 would not want to begin. This is identical precept that you need to apply to get one of the best effectivity out of a plug-in hybrid electrical automobile.
Nonetheless, in contrast to a PHEV, whose electrical motor solely delivers a fraction of the automobile’s complete energy, so its combustion engine wants to begin as much as present all the accessible efficiency, in an prolonged vary EV just like the Ramcharger, you get immediate full energy from the electrical motors always.
Doesn’t The Tesla Cybertruck Additionally Have A Vary Extender?
Tesla went down a unique path of vary extension for its Cybertruck. As an alternative of equipping it with an onboard generator pushed by a combustion engine, which might have been fully at odds with the corporate’s ethos, Tesla provides an extra battery pack within the mattress of the truck. The additional pack takes up a 3rd of the mattress house and provides about 40 % extra vary however it additionally takes extra time to cost on condition that there are extra kilowatt hours to replenish.
What Different Prolonged-Vary EVs Are There?
One of many earliest range-extender EVs was the BMW i3 REx, which had a two-cylinder motorbike engine within the again. It was designed to satisfy California Air Useful resource Board (CARB) laws to be categorised as an auxiliary energy unit (APU) in order that the automobile was nonetheless thought of an EV and never a type of hybrid.
One other more moderen extended-range EV is the Mazda MX-30 R-EV, which follows an identical method to the i3. It options an 830-cc single-rotor Wankel engine, which supplies the Mazda a WLTP vary ranking of as much as 423 miles. Thoughts you, in contrast to the i3 REx, the R-EV model of the MX-30 has a fair smaller battery than the usual BEV mannequin, which nets it a most vary on battery energy alone of simply 53 miles WLTP.
Vary extender EVs are fairly uncommon amongst passenger autos, so the arrival of the Ramcharger subsequent 12 months is definitely a big growth for such a automobile. Whether or not it proves extra in style than the totally electrical Ram 1500 REV (which is able to debut just a few months earlier than) stays to be seen, however we’re fairly sure it can have its followers.