Ram 1500 EV Will Offer a Range Extender Gas Engine, CEO Confirms

• Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. says the Ram 1500 EV will offer a range extender, as first reported by evpulse.com.

• A range extender is a combustion engine that can recharge the truck's battery, and it's currently not an option on other EV trucks.

• Ford has already patented a bed-mounted range extender for the electric F-150, so Ram isn't the first to think of the idea.

UPDATE 1/5/23: Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares confirmed the range-extender powertrain option for the upcoming Ram 1500 EV during a roundtable interview at CES 2023. While the Ram Revolution BEV concept is battery-powered EV, there will also be a version of this pickup offered with a gasoline engine that can recharge the battery.

By the time the Ram 1500 EV hits the market in 2024, it'll be a couple of years late to the all-electric-pickup-truck party that's already getting started. However, it could arrive with an available range extender, which is not currently an option on rivals such as the F-150 Lightning, the GMC Hummer EV, or the Rivan R1T.

Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. first mentioned that the upcoming Ram 1500 EV will be offered with a range extender in an interview with EV Pulse. Powering a generator that can recharge the truck's battery pack, it might help alleviate concerns some people have about driving range. It's perhaps a hedge for buyers of electric trucks who plan on using them to tow, as it significantly affects efficiency and range. We've seen the Rivian R1T's range shrink to just 110 miles when towing a modest load just half of the truck's 11,000-pound maximum.