Ram plans to unveil electric 1500 concept this year

April 14, 2022 01:46 PM

NEW YORK — Ram plans to unveil a concept of its electric 1500 pickup this year.

The Stellantis truck brand has shown a few images of what its first battery-electric pickup could look like, but it's preparing to take the next step with a live concept ahead of the truck's slated 2024 release, said Ram CEO Mike Koval.

Koval said the company is consulting the public about the electric pickup's design through its Ram Real Talk Tour, a series of conversations with consumers at various events. The brand says these interactions will help it better understand what the next generation of Ram pickups and vans "must do to meet their needs."

Koval revealed last summer that a battery-electric 1500 was in the works, adding another contestant to the burgeoning electric pickup space.

"A lot of our Ram Real Talk feedback is influencing that design," Koval told Automotive News during the auto show here. "That design will then influence the product that we bring to market, so it's all connected. There's a master plan."

Ram says it will offer fully electrified solutions in the majority of segments where it competes by 2025. The brand says it will have a full portfolio of electrified models no later than 2030.

By 2024, rival vehicles such as the GMC Hummer EV and Ford F-150 Lightning will have been on the market for two years. The Chevrolet Silverado EV goes into production next year.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in January that the company will use its later arrival to the electric pickup segment to its advantage.

"We are preparing the EV pickup trucks for 2024, and we are doing it by adjusting the specs and adjusting the performance in function of what we see coming up from our competitors," Tavares said during a fireside chat with Morgan Stanley. "It's a fact that we are coming slightly after them.

"But it's also a fact that we have the opportunity to adjust the competitiveness and the appeal of our own trucks to what they are doing, which is a competitive game, which is a fantastic situation for the consumer because the real winner of this competition is the consumer."