Dodge kills full size EV pickup truck development

[alarmguy]

I saw this all over the place a couple days ago. Dodge is canceling development of its full size EV pickup due to lack of demand.
It is going to go forward with a Hybrid however they will not put the "Ram" name on it.
Seems like a wise decision to me, at least for now. Looks like limited desire for EV pickups by that market segment of buyers.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a66069524/ram-1500-ev-pickup-dead-confirmed/

 

[Jetronic]

electric drive for a truck makes sense, with basically all torque available from 1 rpm. But carrying a big heavy battery around makes a lot less sense. Hybrid could be the answer, especially for those that can't charge at home.

 

[Burt]

I used to get grief from EV fans that hybrids were good transitional solutions until EV infrastructure and battery tech/cost improves. Although I do think having one ICE and one EV makes a lot of sense for two car households.

 

[dogememe]

I used to get grief from EV fans that hybrids were good transitional solutions until EV infrastructure and battery tech/cost improves. Although I do think having one ICE and one EV makes a lot of sense for two car households.

With modern EVs charging how quickly they do and charging infrastructure being plenty good (especially if your vehicle is compatible with the Tesla Supercharger network either natively or via an adapter) a full EV household is totally doable. Even for road trips.

 

[Brons2]

I saw this all over the place a couple days ago. Dodge is canceling development of its full size EV pickup due to lack of demand.
It is going to go forward with a Hybrid however they will not put the "Ram" name on it.
Seems like a wise decision to me, at least for now. Looks like limited desire for EV pickups by that market segment of buyers.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a66069524/ram-1500-ev-pickup-dead-confirmed/

This wasn't really an EV truck though, it was a series hybrid, or what some call an EREV. Everyone thought at one time it was the greatest idea since sliced bread. Just goes to show there are no free lunches when it comes to the laws of physics.

So I guess they are going to sell it under some other name? I haven't read the articles because I don't really care, I will only buy a BEV truck now that I've had one and considering my needs and use case. Maybe if they bring back the EREV idea, they can give it a Dodge name and bring back Dodge trucks. That would be kind of neat for us nostalgia guys.

Supposedly Ford is working on this EREV idea for the SuperDuty also. We'll see if that amounts to anything.

As I said, I personally love my Lightning and the short range battery works for me and the driving I do. Thusly I'm unlikely to ever encumber myself with an ICE engine in the future if the goal is merely to increase range without stopping. I'd rather just stop.

Other guys have a different calculus than I do, especially if their work involves driving, time is money. For me, I mainly commute to the office, and any driving outside of that I do is for leisure.

 

[dogememe]

This wasn't really an EV truck though, it was a series hybrid, or what some call an EREV. Everyone thought at one time it was the greatest idea since sliced bread. Just goes to show there are no free lunches when it comes to the laws of physics.

So I guess they are going to sell it under some other name? I haven't read the articles because I don't really care, I will only buy a BEV truck now that I've had one and considering my needs and use case. Maybe if they bring back the EREV idea, they can give it a Dodge name and bring back Dodge trucks. That would be kind of neat for us nostalgia guys.

Supposedly Ford is working on this EREV idea for the SuperDuty also. We'll see if that amounts to anything.

As I said, I personally love my Lightning and the short range battery works for me and the driving I do. Thusly I'm unlikely to ever encumber myself with an ICE engine in the future if the goal is merely to increase range without stopping. I'd rather just stop.

Other guys have a different calculus than I do, especially if their work involves driving, time is money. For me, I mainly commute to the office, and any driving outside of that I do is for leisure.

Am I misunderstanding? I thought they are cancelling the full EV truck and only proceeding with the EREV truck?

Scout, a combination of VW and Rivian, is also making their upcoming vehicles as full EV and EREV. My ex really wants one but he didn't want to wait so got the Equinox EV instead. But I suspect it will be his next vehicle in full EV form... no need for an EREV here with plenty of charging options. WIth how many Rivians and Broncos I see, I think that Scout competitor will do fairly well.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

From what I have seen, the cancelled Dodge truck was to be (@ this time) the only EREV vehicle offered for sale in the USA.
I am certain there are several private businesses and personal uses which some have deemed they have a want or need an "electric truck" in their lives. Still, I do not think there will come a time in many of our lives that sees a massive need for fleets of EV trucks to be built or bought up by enough truck owners to make it a profitable product for car makers. Sedans for city use? Sure that could flourish one day.

 

[The_Jeff]

Truck would make sense when solid state batteries are out, but I'm not sure Stellantis is at the forefront of battery technology.

 

[racer12306]

The EREV is NOT cancelled. The EV is cancelled.


The confusion comes from the fact that the EREV was called the Ramcharger and the EV was called the REV and now the EREV is called the REV.

 

[Astro14]

A plug-in hybrid has enough battery capacity to be able to supplant the ICE on a long hill, or other demanding towing situation. Being able to run around town in pure electric (and save the fuel costs) is just icing on the cake.

Our PHEV costs about 1/3 as much per mile to run in pure EV vs. the cost of gasoline.

 

[Cujet]

I am still a fan of well designed Plug in Hybrids. The batteries in such designs are highly stressed often with 300 cycles per year they can degrade early, example, the Volt cars are needing batteries now. Even so, battery design changes for robustness, charge/depth of discharge management and improved quality can mitigate that issue. Honda/Yuasa really had the right idea.

They used a purpose built (heavy duty internals, not optimized for superb power to weight) 17kWh pack and limited it to 13kWh.

 

[alarmguy]

This wasn't really an EV truck though, it was a series hybrid, or what some call an EREV. Everyone thought at one time it was the greatest idea since sliced bread. Just goes to show there are no free lunches when it comes to the laws of physics.

So I guess they are going to sell it under some other name? I haven't read the articles because I don't really care, I will only buy a BEV truck now that I've had one and considering my needs and use case. Maybe if they bring back the EREV idea, they can give it a Dodge name and bring back Dodge trucks. That would be kind of neat for us nostalgia guys.

Supposedly Ford is working on this EREV idea for the SuperDuty also. We'll see if that amounts to anything.

As I said, I personally love my Lightning and the short range battery works for me and the driving I do. Thusly I'm unlikely to ever encumber myself with an ICE engine in the future if the goal is merely to increase range without stopping. I'd rather just stop.

Other guys have a different calculus than I do, especially if their work involves driving, time is money. For me, I mainly commute to the office, and any driving outside of that I do is for leisure.

If you read the article, it was a true electric vehicle that also had a generator, but no way was hooked into the driveline. They canceled the plans.
It did have a V6 engine strictly operated as a generator to eliminate range anxiety.
No, it is not going to be sold under some other name. Development has been canceled.

They are coming to market with a hybrid pick up that will be sold under a different name than RAM

 

[Brons2]

The confusion comes from the fact that the EREV was called the Ramcharger and the EV was called the REV and now the EREV is called the REV.

My eyes went sideways reading that. Clear as mud, just like Stellantis' strategy for the US market.

 

[alarmguy]

This is one of those “oh gosh, already” moments.
All the information is in the link I provided, but here is a teaser from that link again, below.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a66069524/ram-1500-ev-pickup-dead-confirmed/

 

[Brons2]

If you read the article, it was a true electric vehicle that also had a generator, but no way was hooked into the driveline. They canceled the plans.
It did have a V6 engine strictly operated as a generator to eliminate range anxiety.
No, it is not going to be sold under some other name. Development has been canceled.

They are coming to market with a hybrid pick up that will be sold under a different name than RAM

clearly I wasn't up to date.

Now is the truck they're planning to make a (normal?) parallel hybrid or a series hybrid like the Volt? I wouldn't be likely to consider a hybrid over a full BEV, but were I to consider one, for me it would be a clear preference for the latter.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I wonder if they figured out that all of the cost of R&D , planning , facilities , working crews and on and on ...... the costs involved in it from design table to driving out the factory door to the dealerships is way too expensive a cost. A massive cost on something that will not any time soon be a phenom seller like the Ford Model T was. So , what would they do with dealership parking lots full of slow sellers? Unless a bunch of concrete cowboys , private contractors , hunters and fisherman, people the actual pick up trucks were developed for suddenly go green overnight? Maybe private hot shot drivers want one ? But , how many?

 

[Burt]

With modern EVs charging how quickly they do and charging infrastructure being plenty good (especially if your vehicle is compatible with the Tesla Supercharger network either natively or via an adapter) a full EV household is totally doable. Even for road trips.

The Tesla website says using their vehicle to drive a thousand mile trip adds 4 hours even if I break it into 2 days, and that’s if it’s not too hot, not too cold, not into head winds , moderate speed and the battery hasn’t degraded. Doable yes, comparable to ICE, no.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The Tesla website says using their vehicle to drive a thousand mile trip adds 4 hours even if I break it into 2 days, and that’s if it’s not too hot, not too cold, not into head winds , moderate speed and the battery hasn’t degraded. Doable yes, comparable to ICE, no.

Please post this.
If I were going 1,000 miles, I would start out full, drive about 250 miles, charge for 15-20 minutes over lunch or a break. That would get me half way there with similar time as a gas car. 4 hours seems excessive.

 

[dogememe]

The Tesla website says using their vehicle to drive a thousand mile trip adds 4 hours even if I break it into 2 days, and that’s if it’s not too hot, not too cold, not into head winds , moderate speed and the battery hasn’t degraded. Doable yes, comparable to ICE, no.

I drove from Sac to LA. Charged once for 8 minutes and once for 10 minutes. I was doing 85mph most of the way and it was like 100 out.

On the way back it took longer but we were limited by our bladders and want for food, it by the car.

 

[alarmguy]

clearly I wasn't up to date.

Now is the truck they're planning to make a (normal?) parallel hybrid or a series hybrid like the Volt? I wouldn't be likely to consider a hybrid over a full BEV, but were I to consider one, for me it would be a clear preference for the latter.

I can only assume it would be parallel. But I know nothing.