Last week at the New York auto show, Ram wowed with a new goal post for electric trucks: a targeted range of 500 miles for its 2025 Ram 1500 REV.
That range number, introduced by Ram Brand CEO Mike Koval Jr., could make the 1500 REV king of the EV hill in what matters most to many shoppers, and second only to the Lucid Air sedan’s 516 miles. But to achieve it, this brawny truck will require a battery pack that’s more than twice the Lucid's capacity, at 229 kwh.
While the Ram 1500 REV has an evolutionary design and doesn’t carry forward with the radical looks and breakthrough packaging of the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV concept, its completely new front end design does make the EV easy to spot versus the gasoline Ram. The electric truck also has a one-pedal driving mode, a front motor unit that can disconnect when it’s not needed to boost efficiency, and underbody aerodynamic measures to help reach the claimed 0.34 coefficient of drag.
With 654 hp and 620 lb-ft of torque, a 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds, a water fording depth of up to 24 inches, towing capability up to 14,000 pounds, and a maximum payload of 2,700 pounds, the 1500 REV is due to impress versus gasoline trucks in most if not all other measures. It’s included up to 7.2 kw of output from a power panel and 3.6 kw from a frunk outlet, and it’s ready for bidirectional charging for home systems and even future vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability.
With the basics on the production 2025 Ram 1500 REV out from the curtain, Green Car Reports sat down with Koval and asked about the production likelihood of a 20-foot lumber pass-through, charging robots, and more. It got interesting.
Could the true paradigm-breaker with even more range be yet to come? Read below for everything Ram's CEO divulged about the 1500 REV family, broken out into some broad points:
2025 Ram 1500 REV
What’s the range of the Ram 1500 REV XR?
To tease the idea that more is to come for those who plan to tow with their trucks, the brand noted that the Ram 1500 REV XR version—its range-extended EV—will offer “class-shattering range.”
Though it’s safe to assume the XR will offer even more range than the REV’s 500 miles, as Koval suggested earlier this year, he wouldn’t answer this one—not even a ballpark quite yet. “I’ll share more on the actual technology—it’s proprietary technology—at the reveal for the XR later this year,” he said. “But the devil’s gonna be in the details, that’s all I can tell you today.”
It remains a mystery what technical specs Ram is selecting for the XR, a choice that will need to juggle battery size, engine output, fuel-tank size, and more, all with real-world tow prowess in mind.
Ram also, however, confirmed a potential sweet spot for many electric truck intenders: a 168-kwh pack with a targeted range of up to 350 miles.
Ram confirmed that the XR will be primarily an EV with a charge port, so it’s fair to expect some of the same charging attributes. But Koval, echoing what Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said earlier in the year, said this is not a plug-in hybrid.
2025 Ram 1500 REV
Base Ram 1500 REV will be widely, publicly available
When asked about whether Ram would truly offer a straightforward base version of its 350-mile truck for personal use and fleet—the question hinting at Ford’s bait-and-switch on F-150 Lightning pricing and GM’s staggered, delayed rollout of its electric trucks—Koval seemed ready to pounce with energy.
“Absolutely, yeah I’m bullish, I think we can do both,” he said. “I think there are some really practical reasons within fleet and small business, not only on the vans, but in full-size pickup trucks as well.”
“We are going to have a Tradesman version, which is that fleet work truck, commercial-oriented trim level, with 168-kwh battery packs that’s your 350 miles of range,” he added.
Furthermore, Ram said that the 1500 REV will be offered in five different trims: Tradesman, Big Horn/Lone Star, Laramie, and Limited, plus a new Tungsten trim. Feature highlights include a head-up display, Klipsch Reference Premiere audio, a huge 14.5-inch center touchscreen, and a 10.3-inch touchscreen for the passenger.
Robotic inductive Ram Charger for future Ram EV
The Ram Charger inductive charging robot? Not a stunt
What about that mobile wireless charging robot teased with the Ram Revolution concept’s CES reveal?
It’s already been revealed that the unit wasn’t just a stunt. As Green Car Reports reported in January, the robot, developed by EFI Automotive over five years, was spearheaded by Stellantis and incorporates AI.
“If you put the pieces of the puzzle together, it’s about removing friction,” explained Koval. “There’s so much, and change is hard… That was an innovative, very cool development for Ram, but yeah we’re pushing to get that into the market as quickly as possible.”
Citroen Ami to join Free2Move fleet in United States
Free2Move will handle all the hardware
Koval at a couple points in the interview referenced Stellantis’ quirky, mobility-focused Free2Move operation, which launched for North America in 2017 and originally was to lead with car-sharing and ride-hailing as a means to get EVs from the former company PSA into the U.S. Currently it offers the car-sharing and rental of Stellantis models (including Jeeps) in Denver, Madrid, Paris, Portland, and Washington, D.C.
Koval said that through Free2Move, Ram wants to make sure there are turnkey solutions for all the charging hardware owners might require—so it could assure a better-defined role for the enigmatic organization in the U.S.
“Just know that as a consumer, when I go into my local Ram dealership, I will have a solution for you based upon your needs and wants, and I will take care of everything for you—vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to home, and, if you have the right hardware, vehicle to grid,” he said.
STLA Frame platform
Ram 1500 REV’s smaller pack charges at 800 volts, too
One point that last week’s release made clear on the Ram 1500 REV is that it can recover 110 miles of range in about 10 minutes via a 350-kw CCS connector, thanks to 800-volt charging for either pack configuration.
Although Ram hasn’t stated it in any releases quite yet, Koval clarified: Both the optional 229-kwh pack and the base pack are double-layer packs.
The fast-charging smaller pack is potentially a big differentiator versus GM’s upcoming Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV, which charge at 400 volts for their standard packs and leave 800-volt charging for their longest-range, double-decker configuration.
Koval said that being the latecomer to this field helped—not just in range but in charging.
“With full knowledge of what the competitors have announced, that allowed myself and Ralph (Gilles) and our engineers to go back and say, ‘Trucks need to tow, they need to haul, and in the future they’re going to need a competitive rate in charge time.’"
The concept’s 20-foot pass-through may be on the way
See that channel into the frunk of the Ram Revolution?
Lumber. Nearly 20 feet of it continuous if you use the tailgate! pic.twitter.com/aqWzYXbOc1
— Bengt Halvorson (@ben_gt) January 5, 2023
The Ram Revolution concept truck offered a pass-through that potentially allowed long items to be stowed stem to stern—allowing 18 feet of continuous length for lumber and the like, or up to 20 feet with the tailgate down.
It’s a feature that Koval says safety regulations would permit. And, he hinted, it’s one of several features from the concept that are truly on the way to production.
“I have technical solutions to bring most of what you saw on the concept truck into production—over time,” said Koval. “We talk about life cycle…features will come little by little for the next few years, it’s gonna be fun.”
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NOTE: This piece has been updated to reflect a clarification from Ram indicating that the 1500 REV's 168-kwh battery pack is, after all, a double-layer pack.
