2024 Ram ProMaster EV Charges Ahead

• 2025 Ram ProMaster EV packs a 268-hp electric drive motor at the front axle, which is fed by a 110-kWh battery pack.
  

• Ram says this ProMaster EV can travel 162 miles when stuffed to half its 3,020-pound payload capacity.

• The Ram ProMaster EV is on sale now in delivery configuration, with the cargo van coming in the first half of 2025.

Jumping further into the cargo delivery space, Ram is rolling out the battery-electric version of its ProMaster van. This quickly growing market is as diverse as they come, and another entry from a legacy automaker will give would-be shoppers yet another option.

Currently available in only a delivery configuration, we hopped behind the wheel for a quick lap around the company’s Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters.

Powering this ProMaster EV is one electric drive module that sends 268 hp to the front axle, fed by a hefty 110-kWh battery pack.

The folks at Ram say this ProMaster EV is good for 162 miles of range while tugging half of its 3,020-pound payload capacity, which means 1,510 pounds for those who don’t have a calculator handy. That figure comes from the assumption that you're starting your day with a cargo hold full, and driving back to home base empty.

Without a single Amazon package in the back, we jettison around the Ram headquarters, doing our best impression of a delivery driver. As you’d expect with a battery-electric vehicle, this ProMaster has immediate power down low and effortlessly climbs to speed.

Unlike a passenger car, this delivery vehicle doesn’t exactly isolate noise from the sheetmetal structure. But that sound would probably subside if there were packages, plumbing fixtures, or bread in the back to soak up some of the noise.

Dynamically, it’s hard to say this work van is exciting, but you can say it’s not too taxing. The steering is light, the sight lines are clear, and the brake effort is low and easily modulated. The cockpit features a 10.1-inch standard touchscreen media system and a 7-inch digital driver display. The touchscreen runs Ram’s Uconnect system.

The touchscreen might be the most frustrating part of the ProMaster EV’s test time. Unlike other battery-electric automakers, Ram chose to integrate its regenerative braking controller within the screen. While this isn’t an issue for most, this current tester wasn’t running the appropriate software to enable the regenerative braking controls.

It’s worth noting that in a commercial-vehicle setting, it’s probably not in the fleet owner’s best interest to give their drivers a variability-like control over their regenerative braking feel, as it could have range implications and force a driver to charge their ProMaster EV at an inopportune time, causing downtime.

That said, the 10.1-inch touchscreen still had some early-build teething problems outside of the regenerative braking control.

Customers who might have a software fault like this will be happy to know the ProMaster EV can be updated over the air. Ram is also rolling out software to help fleet managers better control each vehicle’s functions and features, which in turn could optimize the machine to its particular use case.

Then comes the price. Ram says you can shuffle one of these into your fleet for $79,990, including destination. There’s probably a volume break on the price if you’re a business, but that’s likely a deal between you and a Ram dealer.

That price puts it above a Mercedes-Benz eSprinter and a Ford E-Transit. Still, this Ram offers more payload and power than those competitors.

Do you think battery-electric delivery vans are the answer? Tell us your thoughts below.