Ram Unveils Three-Row Electric Pickup Concept | CNN Business

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Stellantis’ Ram truck brand lags rivals in electric pickup launch, with trucks from big rivals already on the market or to come.

But Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the company is using its time to deliver features and capabilities that competitors won’t. This may include an additional row of removable folding seats.

The Ram 1500 Revolution concept truck, unveiled Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, previews several features Ram’s future electric truck could have, including a passenger cab rear wall that folds down, leaving the cabin of the truck completely open on the loading bed. It’s not a new idea, as General Motors’ Chevrolet and GMC electric trucks hitting the market later this year and early next year will offer a drop-down cab wall; the Chevrolet Avalanche gas truck also offered it more than a decade ago.

What the Revolution concept also has, however, are “third row jump seats” that fold out from that rear wall while the second row of seats can slide forward to make room. Having three rows of seats is possible because, without the need for a gasoline engine, the cabin of the Revolution is extra-long. The seats can also be removed, said Stellantis design manager Ralph Gilles, allowing them to be used outside the truck or in the cargo area for tailgating.

Space under the bonnet is available for storage and there is a pass-through hole which can be opened through the cabin and into the “frunk”, or front trunk. Thanks to this passage and the folding cabin wall, a pole or a board up to 18 feet long can be loaded into the truck.

Stellantis promises that the production version of the truck, scheduled for 2024, will lead the market in terms of range, towing capacity, payload capacity and loading speed. Without making any specific claims for this concept truck in terms of range or performance, Stellantis said the truck would be capable of charging 100 miles of range in 10 minutes. That’s pretty standard for vehicles that can run on fast chargers, but actual charge times vary greatly based on things like outside temperature and charger capabilities.

Since this is a concept vehicle, it is likely that not all features shown on this truck will be included in the production version. The concept truck has doors that open outward from the center with no pillar in the middle. Although this is a common design feature on concept vehicles – it makes the interior easier to see – it is almost never used in production vehicles which need the structural strength provided by this pillar.

The Ram 1500 Revolution concept has two electric motors, one powering the rear wheels and the other for the front wheels, giving it all-wheel drive. This is the most common way to provide all-wheel drive in electric vehicles, but some trucks, like the Rivian R1T, use four motors, one powering each wheel. The Ram Revolution is designed with room for bigger, more powerful engines for high-performance versions of the truck, according to Stellantis.

Some automakers already have electric trucks on the market, like the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning; others like General Motors have revealed production-ready trucks slated to hit the market in early 2024. Even Tesla is set to finally begin production of its Cybertruck by the end of 2023 after years of delays.

The Ram electric truck won’t go on sale until 2024. Stellantis has promised that the production version of the Ram electric truck will be unveiled “in the coming months.”

Once a simple pickup truck model produced under the Dodge brand, Ram became a separate brand in 2009. The truck lineup dates back to Graham Brothers Trucks, a company that began manufacturing trucks with Dodge engines and transmissions in 1921. and was later purchased by Dodge.