This is where the biggest battle in the race for electric vehicles (EVs) will undoubtedly be played: trucks/pickups.
This segment of electrification is certainly the one whose margins are not as high as in luxury electric sedans, but it is the one where sales volumes will be among the highest. And. sales volumes equal popularity. It is quite possible that the winner of this race will often be identified by the masses as The Maker or The Brand of Electric Pickups.
All the protagonists are aware of this. And as in a car race, they know that whichever company starts in pole position has the advantage, but that does not guarantee it to cross the finish line in the lead. The race will be played on the parts of the track layout where overtaking is authorized but it can also be won or lost during pit stops where the leaders have an interest in preparing well and managing their pit stops: when should they stop? How long to change the wheels? They will have to calculate everything to try to come out on top of the pits.
Rivian (RIVN), the young manufacturer of electric pickups and SUVs, won qualifying and started the race on pole. Rivian, which has e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) and Ford (F) as shareholders, began producing its electric pickup truck, the R1T, last September.
Ram Teases its First All-electric Pickup.
GM (GM) came second in qualifying with the GMC EV Pickup, the electric version of the iconic Hummer, the first deliveries of which took place at the end of 2021.
Ford and its long-awaited F-150 Lightning, the electric version of the best-selling F-150 are third. The Dearborn, Michigan automaker has just started production of the F-150 Lightning but has had to suspend reservations due to overwhelming consumer interest.
Then come in an order that the jurors of the race have yet to determine GM again with the Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup expected in the fall 2023 and Tesla (TSLA) and its very enigmatic Cybertruck whose production will start in 2023 after having been postponed several times.
Finally, comes Ram but the Stellantis (STLA) pickup brand -- Fiat Chrysler and French Peugeot merged to form Stellantis -- knows that the race is not yet lost. And if Ram masters all the unexpected elements of this battle, it is quite possible that the group will catch up with the leaders.
The brand has just revealed a new teaser on its first all-electric Ram 1500 pickup truck, which is scheduled to enter the market in 2024. The new 15-second video was posted on the social network Twitter. Entitled Ram Revolution, it shows the front of the vehicle which seems to have a futuristic design. This vehicle has an LED headlight which will undoubtedly make people talk.
"Time to steal some thunder. 😎 " the brand wrote, clearly referring to the F-150 Lightning. "Unleashing Fall 2022. https://RamRevolution.com."
Ram Is Building Excitement
Certainly, there is still a total vagueness on this vehicle but we can already see some details. We know that the grille will be gaping and massive, as a pick-up grille should be, but the teaser lets us glimpse in the darkness of the backlit RAM letters and above all an unprecedented visual signature, composed of pliers optics that form on both sides on the other side of the grille like segments of lightning that come to stimulate, animate the RAM 1500 pickup.
We also imagine that the base will be the all-new STLA Frame platform: it offers a range of up to 500 miles and battery packs between 159-200+ kWh.
However, we do not know if the vehicle we see in this teaser and in another teaser unveiled in March will be the vehicle that will be produced or simply a prototype.
While waiting to find out more, some commentators on Twitter are already starting to salivate over the exciting race that is shaping up in the truck segment between legacy carmakers and disruptors.
"I'm holding off buying a truck to save for this new electric Ram," one user posted. "I guess I have 3 years to save."
"Can’t wait. Please make the truck look better than the other electric trucks," another user commented.
"Probably going to ancel my Cybertruck order...I am getting old waiting on that! Will see.... 👁," commented another Twitter user.
Stellantis, which has been slower to adopt electric vehicles than its U.S. and European rivals, is just starting to build momentum around its new line of electric vehicles. The company last year announced a comprehensive plan to electrify the lineups of most of its brands, including EV versions of popular Dodge cars as well as several Jeep models.
