Ram’s new 1500 EV truck has ‘unlimited’ range, thanks to built-in gas generator

Stellantis is making a new electric-propelled Ram truck with a large EV battery pack linked to a gasoline engine that can extend range for long trips without frequent charging stops. The automaker’s new pickup, the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger, claims to go up to 690 miles on a full tank and charge.

Since the Ramcharger runs on dual electric motors, a 250kW in the front and 238kW one in the rear, it’s effectively an EV. But operationally, it’s like dealing with a plug-in hybrid. If you recall Chevy’s discontinued Volt, it too operated like an EV and provided around 50 miles of pure range — but a gas engine then kicks in to continue powering the EV system once the battery is depleted. The Ramcharger is basically like a massive version of the Volt.

You get EV benefits, including speedy acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, and you can drive lengthy distances on the 92kWh battery without burning any gas. According to Car & Driver, the Ramcharger has a usable battery capacity of 70.8kWh and can drive up to 145 miles purely on electricity.

You aren’t getting a spacious front trunk (frunk) that all-electric pickup trucks have. Instead, there’s a 3.6-liter V6 engine in the bay that fires up when the battery gets low, which powers a 130kW onboard generator that keeps the Ramcharger’s electric motors rolling. (The engine does not directly drive the powertrain.) On gas, the truck is only capable of 174 horsepower — but with a charged battery, Stellantis says it’s capable of 663 peak output.

Earlier this year, Stellantis announced a full-electric pickup called the Ram 1500 REV, which will sport a much larger 229kWh battery for a supposed 500 miles of range on a single charge. Even with a hybrid setup on the Ramcharger, both of the company’s trucks are rated with similar towing and payload capability. The Ramcharger is rated to tow up to 14,000 pounds and can carry a payload up to 2,625 pounds.

Ford is the only legacy automaker currently offering a work-oriented electric pickup truck on the market. But when running with a full load in the back, the drivable range takes a significant nosedive from about 278 miles (AAA-tested range) down to 210 — an almost 25 percent reduction. Going longer distances would require stopping at electric vehicle chargers. But for the Ramcharger, it could technically keep chugging along on fossil fuels.

On the inside, Ramcharger is bringing the screens. It has a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a large 14.5-inch infotainment screen, and the passenger gets their own 10.25-inch display for funsies that supports HDMI input for things like video game consoles. Drivers also get a heads-up display and a digital rearview mirror. Owners can get in a drive with a digital key on a smartphone, and an NFC-based keycard can be used as a backup.

Just because the Ramcharger has a gas engine doesn’t mean you want to burn fuel. As long as the truck is kept charged, preferably at home, you could use it on short trips and never need to stop at gas stations. Of course, a large pickup truck, plus the weight of a battery, gas engine, and fuel tank, likely means the Ramcharger has a beastly curb weight and probably should not just become your primary daily driver.

For longer trips, you’ll need to take the Ramcharger to one of many DC fast charging stations (that are hopefully operational) or one of Tesla’s newer Superchargers that support the CCS port. Stellantis is still one of the holdouts on adopting Tesla’s winning NACS charging port.