With the pending arrival of Ram 1500 REV electric truck 2025Entering the market with the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Silverado EV and Rivian R1T, there will be no shortage of all-electric full-size trucks.
But is there a future for small or midsize electric trucks, in the form of small electric pickups, in the US?
A wide range of brands, including NISSAN, that, GMAnd volkswagen—have given this careful thought, either by declaring it a possibility or by presenting an idea. ONE Toyota electric pickup truck confirmed, but it hasn’t revealed its size—or if that’s been the wish for a long time Electric vehicle Toyota Tacoma-Not yet. And there may be a more affordable pickup variant Riviera R2 line up.
All of these brands didn’t actually endorse such a smaller electric truck exclusively for the United States when Green Car Reports discussed the possibility with Brand CEO Ram Mike Koval Jr. last week at the New York auto show, that seems to be where Ram is with the idea.
Koval confirmed that Ram shared a medium sized one, all-electric pickup truck concept at its recent dealer conference. The concept is said to be about the same size as the current Ford Ranger – or equivalent to the Dodge Dakota when it went out of production in 2011.
He said: “I have 6,000 of my best friends in the arena and I am looking for supporters or non-supporters. “And they’ll have to tell you but I think that’s extremely positive.”
Concept Ram 1500 Revolution BEV
Of course, Green Car Reports asked if there could be an XR version that extends the range of this midsize truck, as has been announced for the Ram 1500 REV, and if the midsize truck might look similar. Ram Revolution concept than if it were already in production. But Koval has yet to budge on any subject.
“It’s too early,” he said. “It’s still not fully defined because it’s just a concept.”
Koval followed this with a hint, suggesting that if such a truck were a global model, the product might be more viable. While 95% of Ram’s volume was previously in North America, Koval explained that South America, parts of the Middle East (Gulf countries) and Australia have all become important markets for the brand.
“More and more, I see our business as a global one,” says Koval. “So I’m looking at all the opportunities, whether it’s compact, mid-size pickups and where I can sell them and what they need to be — metric, rear-wheel drive.”
Still on the topic of midsize trucks, Koval summarizes: “Can I have an ICE and a BEV, since I need an ICE in South America? Yes, it is possible, and it all goes back to the STLA Framework and the flexibility therein. We can do it.”
Dodge Dakota 2011
So… how about the compact Ram pickup?
When Green Car Reports turned the question to simple compact vans — specifically, given the degree of electrification, Koval turned to price concerns.
“We have some great stuff in South America, we have some compact pickups, but these are never easy — compliance, safety, homogeneity,” he said. “And profitability is the question right now.”
“If I could carry a compact pickup, a Ram version, I would do it today. I definitely see an opportunity there,” he summarized.
2025 Ram 1500 REPUBLIC
An EV price war is about to happen
And then, what do you do when there are countless electric truck entries and EV price wars?
“It’s the elephant in the room,” Koval breathed out. “And the answer to that question, the way you maintain that scale and equilibrium today is by cutting costs.”
“Today, I faced downward pressure on my ICE portfolio: Rising inflation, sky-high interest rates, rising gas prices again. I feel it now,” he said. “Everybody knows how expensive electrification is, but at the end of the day if we don’t make electric vehicles, including pickup trucks, accessible, mainstream vehicles, I’m not sure they are. What the hell am I doing?”
Koval sees costs go down over time, with some technologies like solid-state battery cells helping. “Some raw materials are falling in price, not all doom and gloom, but we have a long way to go,” he said.
2025 RAM 1500 REPLACEMENTS
Heavy truck electrification!
With compact and mid-size trucks at the concept stage, what’s next?
“Heavy trucks present an entirely different set of challenges. We’re looking at a lot of fuel cell technologies, which would make a lot of sense in that space.”
According to Koval, that is also likely to jump out of the STLA Frame hardware, although the challenge will be in the tank.
“We don’t have anything to announce today, but fuel cells could be an interesting choice for a use case—yes, towing and hauling very, very large payloads,” he said. “Ram delivered its first hydrogen fuel cell trucks in Europe late last year, so we have expert knowledge on that topic.”
RamProMaster 2022
Demand for Ram ProMaster electric vans is very high
Currently, Ram doesn’t actually have a battery-powered model in its lineup. The first is a version of ProMaster, due out later this fall.
As Koval explained, the fleet market is already open to possibility and locked into total cost of ownership and route predictability — to the point where electric truck demand is driving capacity at the Saltillo, Mexico plant .
“The demand is crazy…I don’t know what I’m going to do with the money,” he said.
2025 RAM 1500 REPLACEMENTS
Pickup trucks will also be an important part of electric vehicle sales
While Koval has made it clear that the brand is planning to offer the Ram 1500 REV in the form of a base Tradesman build that will not only be available to the fleet, he stressed that the electric truck will not be a limited offering. .
Ram won’t reveal official numbers, but it does hint that affordability must be part of this. At the time, it considered electric trucks to account for at least a quarter of its mix — a heavy lifting force for a brand that revolves around towing, hauling and working.
“We know that truckers are now more open to the idea, and we have a very, very optimistic forecast for our electric vehicle mix through the end of the decade.”
