Ford’s hybrid lineup has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years as customers seek more fuel efficient options without the inconveniences associated with pure electric vehicles, which is precisely why it plans to continue making them for the foreseeable future. The Ford F-150 PowerBoost – in particular – has proven to be incredibly popular since its debut for the 2021 model year, which prompted The Blue Oval to ramp up production and make the hybrid a no-cost option for the refreshed 2024 F-150. Now, months after revealing its battery-electric Ram 1500 REV, Stellantis has revealed something that’s a bit of a rival to both the PowerBoost and F-150 Lightning – the all-new 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger.
The 2024 Ram 1500 Ramcharger shares a platform with the REV, but it isn’t a pure EV – nor is it really a hybrid, either. Instead, the new Ramcharger is technically a plug-in hybrid, albeit one with a rather large 70.8 kWh battery pack that provides an impressive 145 miles of pure EV driving range, but it’s also paired with a gas engine in the form of the 3.6L Pentastar V6, which powers a generator designed to produce electricity for the battery, as well as power the truck itself.
Once the Ram 1500 Ramcharger’s battery pack gets below a certain state of charge, that gas engine kicks in to extend range, depending on what drive mode the truck is in at the time. Thanks to its 400-volt electrical architecture, the PHEV pickup can charge at a rate of up to 145 kilowatts, which adds 50 miles of range in 10 minutes. Plus, the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger can also provide bi-directional charging capabilities of up to 7.2 kWh for EVs or powering homes.
Of course, the other benefit of such a setup is that the Ramcharger is a pretty capable performer, too – with 663 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque feeding all four wheels as needed (the front wheels aren’t powered in more economical scenarios), 0-60 takes a mere 4.4 seconds, and with a 27-gallon gas tank on board, it can travel up to 690 miles with a max payload of 2,625 pounds and max towing stated to be 14,000 pounds. Otherwise, it’s somewhat difficult to tell the Ramcharger apart from the rest of the refreshed 2025 Ram lineup, save for a few unique styling cues and special badging.
Those interested in purchasing a 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger will have to wait a while to do so, as the new model isn’t expected to launch until the end of 2024. Pricing hasn’t been revealed yet either, but Ram is taking reservations for a limited time at RamRev.com.
We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is up to soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
No V8, no care. RIP RAM.
Why? Ford sell lots of F150 Ecoboosts.
Hello fellow enthusiastic spectator of the antique road show!
This sounds like a really, really good product. However, the all-important price isn’t advertised yet. If it is $48k, then Ford needs to be scared. If it is $98k, then it is an overpriced paperweight.
I’m a Ford owner for 44 years, currently driving a 2020 F-150 and a 2019 Bullitt. But I have to admit, this is damned intriguing, and if I was going to be in the truck market again, I’d have to give this a serious look. Pending MSRP, of course.
If this ends up being cheaper than the F-150 PowerBoost, Ram will get lots of orders and dealerships lots of trade-ins. The thing is that this Ramcharger will most likely benefit people who haul things in their bed more than people who tow heavy. I can definitely see the work truck variant being extremely popular.
I also find it hilarious Ram is holding on to the Pentastar V6 as long as possible. In a couple decades, they’ll probably sell the Pentastar as a home generator to keep it alive.
About time RAM. This is great. EV’s are BS. Hybrid’s are the way to go, especially hybrids like this. And to GM, not having this is going to be a big problem for you.
This is the future of electric trucks. It’s really about the only way to do it that makes sense.
This is going to annihilate all the other electric trucks that are bought as trucks not as status symbols (rivian). Ram Rev, Silverado EV, and F150 Lightning may as well just shut down production now if they don’t have an equivalent solution.
The future of electric trucks is to include an ICE?! I hope you’re kidding. That literally defeats the purpose of electric. Sure, it’s an ok solution here and now but once battery technology makes the necessary strides this monstrosity will be obsolete.
Pure electric doesn’t make sense for trucks. As pointed out, trucks need to tow big heavy things long distances. I stead.of trying to develop 500kwh batteries that would be economically unviable, you put a modest battery in place so 95% of the day to day commuting is done on electric, and the remainder on ICE.
Reality is, the energy density of batteries cannot compete with that of combustion fuels. This is a great solution until there’s a similarly energy dense hydrogen fuel available, and the infrastructure to support it’s creation and dispersal.
BEV isn’t the end all for everyone and everything, it might work for a small commuter car, but it doesnt for a truck.
I agree with this assessment with the caveat that it is the best solution only given the current state of battery technology, which is definitely rapidly evolving and will not be the case for long. BUT, yes, the Silverado EV and F150 Lightning was always a bad idea: giant, heavy vehicles, built to tow really heavy vehicles that reduces their giant heavy batteries by a third or more (coupled with inadequate infrastructure that isn’t designed for a truck towing a trailer to simply pull up to charge in any case). Anybody that claims that those critiques don’t apply to them because they don’t tow with their F150 Lightning is also admitting that they are an idiot…
I recently read a hit piece by Electrek about the Ramcharger not being an EV but it is important to highlight that this isn’t technically a plugin hybrid or an EV – but a Series Hybrid. Series hybrids like the BMW i3 REX are different from plugin hybrids because the gas engine is not connected to the wheels in any way, shape or form. The gas engine acts as a generator that charges the battery – so the car is propelled by a fully-electric drivetrain. This is actually GENIUS for a large truck designed to tow or really for any vehicle that needs to go long distances, especially in rural areas or areas where the charging infrastructure isn’t fully established yet (which is a LOT of places). A V6 engine would be a little much for most other body types, but a series hybrid is superior to the Silverado EV and Lightning for towing purposes and I fully expect to see far greater acceptance for the Ramcharger amongst people who actually tow with their trucks. Series Hybrids don’t need as much battery, are not as mechanically complex as Hybrids or Plugin Hybrids because it doesn’t have all the ICE drivetrain components (they may even be lighter), you get all the benefit of an Electric drivetrain, and you can plug it in to charge but you still always have the option to fill up the generator in a pinch.
There is a startup called Edison Motors that is also developing a Series Hybrid semi truck concept called “Topsy” to compete with Tesla’s semi truck – and if they pull it off I think its got a pretty good shot. Just imagine trying to charge a Tesla semi truck while travelling cross-country and how hard it will be and how much it will cost to replace a broken turn-signal on the road too! The Topsy’s uses a 2,000 pound battery that can be swapped out and is kept charged by a CAT diesel generator for a 50% reduction in fuel mileage compared to regular trucks, while the Tesla semi will have a 15-20,000 pound battery that will need to be charged regularly. Series Hybrids make the most sense for towing – and by extension, the Lightning is dumb even if you’re an environmentalist (actually, especially if you’re an environmentalist).
Agreed.
Ram cracked the code on how to do an electric truck. It combines all the best parts of the different technologies into one package.
This will take electric trucks mainstream and DOMINATE the electric truck market. All the purr electric trucks should just wind those programs down now before they lose any more money.
Honestly, a Series Hybrid didn’t really work in the BMW i3 REX unless it was specifically built for areas with exactly zero charging infrastructure, but it was definitely as a small city commuter with a starting range of 126 mile range – and they made a series hybrid option called the REX that increased it’s range by like 70 miles (did the media rage when somebody called the REX an EV?). I don’t think anybody was willingly driving that thing on long trips anyhow but the total range was still not enough so even if they did they still ended up making frequent stops to either charge or fuel. It was largely a failed attempt at an otherwise brilliant mix of old and new technology.
There are two things that I don’t particularly like about the RamCharger series hybrid though. First, is I think it’s going to be a Lithium ion battery and it really should be an LFP battery pack. It’s more stable and can handle the stress of the consistent battery charging cycle expected in a series hybrid like the Ramcharger, so its just hands down the better battery chemistry to put in something like that. That’s not always going to be the case, Sodium Ion PBA chemistry is going to definitely be an alternative option sometime between 2025 and 2030. I especially need to see a heat pump in the Ramcharger to pull the heat generated by the battery AND reuse it in heat and cooling systems like in the cabin, rather than letting it go to waste while making the battery work that much more to power the heat and cooling systems – including it’s own battery thermal management system. The regenerative braking system while towing should be very effective at charging the battery, offsetting the loss of range and delaying/minimizing the use of the gas generator.
The second is that it is, personally for me, too much truck! I can get by with half of the Ramchargers towing capacity and a smaller truck.
But before people poopoo how big Ramcharger is, consider that the size of the battery is 30% smaller than the F150 Lightning’s battery, and the Silverado EV is nearly 3x the size of the Ramcharger – but the Ramcharger has double the range, tows more than either trucks, and speaking of which probably has more than double the range when towing compared to those same trucks!
And what do you think those big heavy batteries are going to do to our roads and highways? I don’t agree with some states that are slap extra tax fees on EV’s, but I would fully support taxing vehicles based on their weight regardless of whether or not it is an EV. Most EV’s being produced today are big, heavy vehicles and weigh more than their ICE counterparts, so they would still be taxed more, but the argument can be made that heavy vehicles wear out our roads and highways faster and so if you want to drive a tank down public roads you are going to have to pay higher taxes to do so! From an environmentalists perspective though putting giant battery packs in giant vehicles is tantamount to hoarding mineral resources that are in very high demand and that pollute the environment to mine and refine. The people making and driving the Hummer EV are NOT being environmentally-friendly, their just being jerks. Again, you don’t need as big a battery pack in a series hybrid, and you don’t need all the ICE drivetrain components, but you can go longer distances and fuel up in a pinch, but otherwise charge and drive it like an EV most of the time (90% of commutes are <40 miles).
Lastly, nobody's doing a series hybrid van, but Ford E-Transit is just as dumb as the Ford F150 Lightning. Consumer demand aside, I also think van's are superior to SUV's in terms of comfort for traveling (there's a sordid history of how U.S. consumers were convinced that trucks and suv's are the new family car that has a lot to do with the industry finding a loop hole in new emissions regulations that took effect in the 1970's). The Chrysler Pacifica PHEV is the only one of its kind, but a series hybrid van would be even better for the environment and the consumer. Plugin Hybrids are more mechanically complex and the electric drivetrains are still weak, secondary systems that still rely on the gas engine to exert any kind of power for burst acceleration or hump it up a hill even when in full electric mode. Ford doesn't do luxury vans (big mistake, I'd get a luxury van over an SUV any day of the week – SUV's, whether their electric or not, are effectively DOA in my opinion), but a series hybrid Transit camper van would be insane!
…And to clear up any potential presumption that I’m a opponent of electric vehicles based on my criticisms of the F150 Lightning, Silverado EV, Hummer – and also by extension the CyberTruck and Rivian – I currently own a 2023 Ford Maverick Hybrid and a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV (with a new battery). I also own an ebike and… drum roll please… am a public transportation and bicycle infrastructure advocate! Anybody who advocates for 100% EV adoption and is completely silent on public and other alternative forms of transportation, or that thinks giant EV’s with giant battery packs are a good idea, cannot be taken seriously. As for towing, BEV’s are just not a good fit (right now), but as a progressive, psuedo-environmentalist myself, I highly recommend a series hybrid truck if you want to tow in a more environmentally-friendly way. And as for the people who hardly ever need to tow but still want a F150 Lightning because they think it is the environmentally right thing to do? Think again.
That is where I’m actually coming from…