DETROIT (AP) – When a futuristic-looking electric Ram pickup goes on sale next year, it will hardly be the first in line.
By then, at least seven EV competitors are slated to be on sale, all of them vying for a slice of the huge full-size truck market that now includes the three best-selling gasoline and diesel vehicles in the United States.
Four models — Ford’s F-150 Lightning, Rivian’s R1T, Lordstown Motors’ Endurance and the GMC Hummer EV Pickup — are already on the road. And three others are scheduled for this year or next: the Chevrolet Silverado EV, the GMC Sierra EV and Tesla’s Cybertruck.
However, executives at Ram, which is Stellantis’ truck and commercial vehicle brand, say they don’t mind following rather than leading their competitors.
“It’s actually a plus for us,” Mike Koval Jr., CEO of the Ram brand, said in an interview. “Because we are fully aware of what others have announced.”
On Thursday afternoon, company executives unveiled a concept version of the Ram 1500 Revolution battery truck at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas. The production truck likely won’t be as bold as the one shown on stage, which looks like a halfway point between Tesla’s angular Cybertruck and a conventional gas pickup. But the Ram EV, Koval said, will outperform competitors in the areas customers value most: payload, towing, range and technology.
GM has announced that the Silverado EV will be able to travel more than 400 miles (640 kilometers) on a single charge. (Rivals have a range of 230 to 400 miles, depending on battery size.) Koval insists that the production Ram “will outperform anything our competitors have announced.”
Next year, he noted, there will be more charging stations and other infrastructure, which will make the electric vehicle market more attractive.
Jessica Caldwell, chief information officer at Edmunds.com, said the Ram won’t be too late to market because electric trucks on sale now can’t fully meet sustained growth in consumer demand.
GM says more than 170,000 people have made $100 refundable deposits on the Sierra. Last year, Ford sold more than 15,000 Lightning trucks, even though the vehicles weren’t available until May. The company closed reservations after receiving $100 deposits from nearly 200,000 potential buyers.
Last year, Americans bought more than 2.1 million full-size trucks, most of which still run on gas. Large trucks accounted for more than 15% of all new vehicle sales in the United States, a huge and lucrative market. Sales of electric vehicles are growing rapidly: 807,000 were sold in the United States last year, up 65% from 2021.
Prices for electric trucks, which are relatively expensive, will have to approach those of gasoline versions to lure buyers away, said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive.
Ford’s electric pickup truck was originally supposed to have a version starting at $40,000. But the starting price is now just under $56,000, driven by demand and rising commodity prices. That’s a lot more than the base gas F-150 that starts just under $34,000.
“The problem with pricing,” Krebs said, “is that costs are going up to build electric vehicles. The prices of lithium and other (battery) minerals are high.”
Automakers say prices should drop as companies spread costs among more vehicles and as advances in battery chemistry reduce the amount or even eliminate the minerals needed to store energy.
Koval says he is aware that the electric Ram will have to appeal to customers who want work versions of the base model, as well as those who want luxury and technology at a higher price, even with “insane” costs of the raw materials.
“We’re going to try to have something for everyone,” he said, “but with an eye on that critical price point.”
The truck will also offer 350-kilowatt fast charging that can add up to 100 miles of range in about 10 minutes, a large interior accessed through “sedan-style” doors with an interior with multiple configurations.
Krebs acknowledges that getting people to give up their gas trucks may take some time. In the Midwestern states and Texas, where most trucks are sold, there aren’t many electric vehicle charging stations that allow for longer trips.
Electric trucks may also appeal to companies that buy fleets of work trucks and want to receive tax credits and avoid paying for gas.
Caldwell believes the market for electric trucks will include buyers who use them for work and those who would otherwise buy an electric SUV for personal use.
Electric trucks, he said, “give people who might have been on the fence about (an electric vehicle) more reason to buy.”