2024 Ram 1500 Ramcharger: range-extender electric ute with 1110km range revealed

The Ram 1500 Ramcharger will target "an entire sceptical demographic" by slotting into the gap between ICE and electric full-size utes.

Unveiled overnight in the US as part of a Model Year 2025 revamp for the Ram 1500 line-up, the new Ramcharger variant is a range-extender electric ute that uses a Pentastar V6 petrol engine to power its dual electric motors.

Ram says its targets for the Ramcharger plug-in hybrid include a 1110km driving range, 494kW and 834Nm outputs, and a 0-60mph (0-97km/h) sprint time of 4.4 seconds.

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The Ramcharger sits on the same 'STLA Frame' battery-electric platform as the Ram 1500 Rev fully electric ute that was revealed in production form in early 2023.

Where the 1500 Rev employs huge, heavy battery packs – 168kWh standard or 229kWh optional – the Ramcharger uses a relatively small 92kWh battery that's replenished by the 130kW petrol-fed generator.

The result is a potential maximum range of more than 1100km compared with a best quoted range of 805km for the biggest-battery Rev (or 563km for the standard-battery model).

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Only the Ramcharger's dual electric motors - 250kW up front and 238kW at the rear - power the ute's wheels. Its EV-only range is significantly lower than the Rev's, at about 233km.

Ram is quoting similar payload and towing figures between the fully electric Rev and range-extender Ramcharger.

The company is targeting a payload of about 1190kg (2625Ibs), compared with 1224kg for the Rev.

Braked towing capacities are identical at 6350kg (14,000Ibs), though the range of the Ramcharger – essentially an unconventional hybrid like Nissan's E-Power models, except it can also be plugged in for charging – would theoretically be less affected by heavy trailers or payloads.

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400-volt DC charging of up to 145kW can add 80km of electric range in 10 minutes, according to Ram.

The all-wheel-drive ute can become a front-drive vehicle for improved efficiency with the ability to decouple the front electric motor from the front axle.

An electronic limited-slip differential is also optional for the rear axle.

Ram brand CEO Tim Kuniskis said the Ramcharger expanded the 1500 pick-up's appeal to those buyers who are either not quite ready for a fully electric ute or not entirely convinced by them.

"We want change to happen at our customer's pace," he said. "[The Ramcharger] can address what could be your range anxiety. It's been built to pull in an entire sceptical demographic."

The Ram 1500 Ramcharger and Rev are expected to go on sale in the US in late 2024.

Local importer Ateco has yet to confirm official plans for right-hand-drive versions of the electric Rams, though is already understood to be interested in the Rev. The Ramcharger variant, which will be available in various trim grades in the US, would also make plenty of sense for Australia.