Sometimes, it is better to arrive ‘fashionably late’ to a party. However, opinions will be divided if that is also the case with Stellantis’ representative in the full-size electric pickup truck segment, especially since the ‘host’ seems to be America’s (most) popular EV workhorse – aka Ford’s F-150 Lightning.
Not long ago, U.S. customers of full-size pickup trucks would have laughed so hard at the thought of plugging in their trusty sidekick that even extraterrestrials passing by in a nearby galaxy would have raised their eyebrows – if they had any. Now, on the other hand, people have started to get accustomed to the sound of eerie silence, the instant torque, or the V2L feature that allows large batteries in electric vehicles to power just about everything around the car, SUV, or truck, from domestic appliances to power tools and even entire houses in case of emergencies.
As such, slowly but surely, North America has started seeing the rise of full-size electric pickup trucks. First with a bit of shyness from the new kid on the block Rivian R1T, then with the eyes peeled at the sight of the GMC Hummer EV behemoth, and then as if nothing really happened and these EVs were around for ages, thanks to the popularity of the Ford F-150 Lightning. Sure, we are keeping the proportions relative to the ICE side of the truck business, but during the first quarter of 2023, Ford – which is America’s best-selling brand now – saw trucks rise almost 20% while electric vehicles jumped 41% in terms of deliveries.
The Blue Oval company kept its overall truck crown with the F-Series and of the almost 11k units of EVs sold during Q1 approximately 4,300 of them were F-150 Lightning trucks. Additionally, the Detroit automaker promises that, soon, annual production capacity will reach 150k units – and hopefully we will see Ford join Tesla in lowering prices. Until then, the joke is on General Motors, actually, since they only delivered 2 (that’s two, yes, you read that right) GMC Hummer EV units! So, it is safe to say that unless GM fixes the Ultium platform, the behemoth is dead in the water and slowly sinking into the mud while watching as the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lighting are merrily sailing away.
That makes us wonder what on Earth is going to happen with the upcoming launches of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV, considering that the vast majority of GM’s first-quarter EV sales were based on the Chevy Bolt siblings! Oh, well, Tesla is a long way from being caught, and Rivian has probably outsold the F-150 Lightning, which had some hiccups during the quarter – including a production halt caused by a pesky battery fire.
Photo: Ford / Stellantis / Rivian / GM
These past few days, though, it has been less about the GM versus Ford brawl and more about the ongoing 2023 New York Auto Show (April 7-16), which is also where Stellantis chose to make its boldest EV move to date, after the nine levels of Banshee EV lifestyle ordained for the Dodge brand. That is where Ram, fashionably late to the full-size EV pickup truck party, finally splashed away at the world debut event for its 2025 Ram 1500 REV. Of course, they called it a “monumental milestone” and took swings at the competition with Mike Koval Jr., Ram brand CEO, saying they “believe in bringing the right range of powertrain solutions to our customers and will continue to redefine the pickup truck segment.”
Because they will only start selling the Ram 1500 REV in late 2024 as a 2025 model year, they will have had enough time to trump all other rivals in most areas, from range to towing and from the payload to the recharge times. For now, they are toting ‘just’ two electric powertrain options. One comes with a ‘standard’ 168 kWh pack for a range of up to 350 miles (563 km) on a charge and the second is the optional 229 kWh large battery pack with a target range of 500 miles (805 km). Compare that to the F-150 Lightning, which has a standard of 98 kWh and an extended option of 131 kWh, complete with 452 or 580 hp, respectively.
Meanwhile, the 2025 Ram 1500 REV boasts 800-volt DC fast charging capabilities at up to 350 kW for 110 miles (177 km) of range in 10 minutes, whereas the official Blue Oval rating is 155 kW, and 11.3 or 19.2 kW for AC sources. Both competitors have bi-directional charging, with the Ram truck boasting an onboard power supply both in the bed (7.2 kW) as well as the frunk (3.6 kW). Performance is also crucial for beating its opponents, so the 1500 REV’s target figures include a sprint to 60 mph (96 kph) in 4.4 seconds, 654 horsepower, and 620 lb.-ft. (841 Nm) of torque, fording capabilities in 24 inches (61 cm) of water, plus up to 14,000 pounds towing alongside a max payload capacity of 2,700 lbs., which is 6,350 kg and 1,225 kg, respectively!
For reference, Ford’s standard battery F-150 Lightning gets 230 miles (370 km) on a charge and has a payload capacity of 2,000 lbs. – 910 kg. The high-end configuration, meanwhile, gets an EPA estimate of 300 miles (480 km), zips to 60 mph in around four seconds and a half, and has a towing capacity rating of 10k lbs. (4,500 kg). On the plus side, all models have 775 lb-ft of torque (1,051 Nm), all-wheel drive, and an independent rear suspension. So, you see, Ford does not lose the comparison across all accounts as it has more torque and about the same sprint as the more powerful but also heavier Ram 1500 REV. Now, there is just one mystery left – when Tesla finally comes out to Cybertruck play, will it be above or below these new thresholds?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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