With EV sales growth slowing, Ram has answer: Onboard charger
One of the biggest reasons people cite when saying they won’t buy an electric vehicle is range anxiety, the fear of running out of juice on the road with nowhere to recharge.
Stellantis’ Ram brand may have an answer for that, especially for people who need a truck to haul or tow things. It’s called the Ramcharger, a pickup that can travel 145 miles on electricity, with a 3.6-liter V6 gas-powered engine linked to a generator that can recharge the battery while the truck is moving.
Electric vehicle sales growth is starting to slow, causing automakers to rethink huge investments in the historic transition from internal combustion to electric powertrains. Polls show the reasons are cost, as well as limited range and too few charging stations, unlike gas stations.
“There’s so many advantages to a battery electric vehicle, but there are certain things that are slowing people down,” says Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Ram brand. With the Ramcharger, Kuniskis says he can tell customers “you don’t have to worry about it with this.”
Stellantis, which has been slow to introduce fully electric vehicles in the U.S., is so confident in the new powertrain’s appeal that it plans to offer it in other vehicles. While the company won’t officially comment, a recent agreement with the United Auto Workers says Stellantis plans to use
the same power system in the Jeep Wrangler small SUV in 2028, and the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs in
2025.
The Ramcharger, due in showrooms late next year, uses 663 horsepower to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds, the company says. When the battery is fully charged and the generator’s 27-gallon gas tank is full, it can go up to 690 miles. The truck also can tow a trailer weighing up to 14,000 pounds, more than the current Ram pickup with a V8 engine.