Ram confirms another delay to electric, range-extender utes

The all-electric Ram 1500 REV ute, and the closely related range-extender Ram 1500 Ramcharger, are delayed, again.

Responding to a report by Crain’s Detroit Business, a spokesperson for the French-Italian-American automaker confirmed the company is “extending the quality validation period” to iron out some quality issues on the EREV (extended-range electric vehicle) 1500 Ramcharger.

Although the spokesperson didn’t elaborate on what these issues are, this latest setback means the Ramcharger won’t be launched until the first quarter of 2026, at the earliest.

Revealed and detailed in November 2023, the Ramcharger was initially set to launch at the end of 2024.

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As for the all-electric 1500 REV, that’s being delayed due to market “slowing consumer demand” for full-size electric pickup trucks in the States.

Despite rising EV sales in the US, the Rivian R1T, Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning, and the electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra aren’t meeting their initially imagined sales targets.

For example, in 2024 Ford sold around 33,000 Lightnings out of 460,915 F-150s in total. The Blue Oval initially planned to shift around 150,000 Lightnings per year.

Unveiled in early 2023, the Ram 1500 REV was originally set to enter the market in late 2024. At the end of last year, Ram pushed the launch date back to 2026, and now it has confirmed the REV won’t become available until the third quarter of 2027.

The long-range variant of the 1500 REV with a 229kWh battery and projected range of 804km (500 miles) has been cancelled, meaning only the standard-range variant will be offered.

At its 2023 unveiling, the standard-range 1500 REV was equipped with a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup making a total of 488kW and 841Nm. Fed by a 168kWh battery, the electric Ram is said to have a 563km (350 mile) range. Given the car’s long gestation time, these details may well change by the time REV finally launches.

The 1500 Ramcharger aims to offer the best of both worlds with its extended-range EV drivetrain. It has a pair of electric motors driving all four wheels, making a total of 487kW and 834Nm, and fed by a 92kWh battery pack.

There’s also a 3.6-litre V6 on board, but it can’t drive the wheels. Instead its only task is to charge up the battery pack when it starts running low.

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