Electric Ram Truck Is Coming per FCA CEO

Ram currently offers V6 and V8 hybrid models, so an all-electric is the logical next step.

The Ram Truck brand has been the talk of the town for the last few weeks due to the fact that the automotive media spent the latter portions of October testing the 702-horsepower TRX. Meanwhile, as FCA is stuffing the Hellcat Hemi into their half-ton pickups, Ford and General Motors have been hard at work developing all-electric pickups. Ford is working on an F-150 that will rely on battery power while the team at General Motors has reincarnated the Hummer brand to showcase their electric truck technology.

Although the Ram 1500 was the first of the top-selling American trucks to feature a hybrid package that sold in high volume, FCA as a whole has been slow to jump into the EV fray. The company did offer the short-lived Fiat 500e, which was actually a fun little car to drive, but it was only sold in a few select markets around the United States. FCA has not offered a volume EV that was available nationwide, but that could soon change.

According to FCA CEO Mike Manley, an all-electric Ram truck is coming, and with the current trend of automakers creating larger, more capable EVs, a battery-powered pickup could be FCA’s most significant entry into the segment.

Manley on an Electric Ram

According to the folks at Electrek, FCA Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley was asked about an electric Ram pickup by an industry analyst during the company’s recent Q3 earnings call. General Motors recently announced their plans to bring back the Hummer brand with an all-electric pickup and Ford has announced plans to have an EV F-150 within the next two years. Of course, Elon Musk revealed the ridiculously designed Tesla Cybertruck almost a year ago and Michigan-based Rivian is building their entire operation around a truck platform.

In short, the all-electric truck segment appears to be about two years away from exploding. While Ram sells the most hybrid pickups, the company has previously shown a general disinterest in an electric truck. However, based on Manley’s comment during the Q3 earnings call, that tune has changed a bit.

“I do see that there will be an electrified Ram pickup in the marketplace, and I would ask you just to stay tuned for a little while, and we’ll tell you exactly when that will be,” said Manley.

He didn’t go into any detail, but that is the first official confirmation that there is an electric Ram pickup on the way.

No Reason to Hate This

Since this news first broke yesterday afternoon, a great many Dodge, Ram and Mopar fans have been freaking out about the idea of an all-electric Ram truck. There is no reason for traditional gearheads to hate a Ram EV, as the all-electric models are being introduced to balance out the gas-powered models. It isn’t like Ram is replacing the Hemi with an electric motor and calling it a day. After all, this is the same brand that is currently building a 702-horsepower half-ton that gets 10 miles-per-gallon.

The electric Ram will partially be introduced to keep up with the Joneses while also working to lower the brand’s carbon footprint. Although trucks aren’t subject to the same strict fuel economy requirements as cars, it is only a matter of time before truck brands are expected to improve their fleet fuel economy numbers by a significant margin.

There are two ways to improve fleet fuel economy numbers – the company can kill off the least efficient models or they can introduce new, ultra-efficient models to balance out the likes of the TRX. Some companies choose to do away with the less efficient models, but that surely isn’t what American horsepower fiends want to see from FCA. We want trucks and cars and SUVs powered by 700-horsepower Hemis. To keep those high performance models in the lineup, they need to be balanced out by hybrids and electric vehicles.

In other words, if you love the Ram 1500 TRX and you would like to see models like that in the lineup in the future, the company needs to introduce hybrid and all-electric models that are far more efficient.

As for timing, it seems that the electric Ford F-150 and the new electric Hummer are expected to come to market in late 2022 or early 2023, so we are a few years out from that next big wave in the EV world. That gives the folks from Ram the better part of two years to bring their EV to market.

Photos: Patrick Rall

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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