Ram's EVs Won't Replace Its Internal Combustion Trucks

[AzScorpion]

Looks like RAM is actually listening to truck owners and taking note. Chevy just announced they're investing 1B into ICE and now RAM sees that truck owners still need an ICE truck. That's not to say they're not going to come out with an EV truck, one (Ram 1500) is expected next year. They're just trying to perfect their EV's before it comes out and jump ahead of the competition. Glad to see someone out there is listening to truck owners who actually use their trucks for truck stuff!

With Ford so heavily invested in the new Blue Oval City I hope this doesn't come back to bite them. Sure technology will improve and maybe Ford will be ahead of the game who knows. But for now (and the forceable future) EV trucks will not be able to what many need them to do.

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/rams-evs-wont-replace-internal-170100241.html

In an effort to retain its passionate customer base during the EV era, Ram went around the country to speak with current truck owners in over 25 cities. Koval noted the survey highlighted that customers from every brand were unwilling to compromise on certain performance metrics, but that electrification itself wasn’t a non-starter for most.

“We heard everything from the benign to the absurd and everything in between, including people who absolutely wanted nothing to do with an electrified pickup,” Koval told R&T. “But the conclusion from all of that feedback, which was invaluable, was this: We are open minded to the idea of heavy electrification in the pickup truck segment, but trucks still need to do truck things. Do not sacrifice or compromise on the core attributes that we find the most valuable, which are payload, towing, range, and charge time. With that being our north star, that’s really how we’re going to connect our current owner base to the future. To maintain and push past what the competitors have announced on those core key attributes.”

Koval is aware of the fact that Ram has been a laggard to the EV game in recent years, with both Ford and GM beating it to market with fully-electric trucks, to say nothing of young startup Rivian. Koval has said this is actually beneficial for Ram, as it has allowed Stellantis' engineers on both sides of the Atlantic more time to improve upon and validate its performance goals. Besting competitors in towing and payload is an incredibly important part of the brand’s electrification strategy, highlighted by current EV truck customers voicing frustration about those metrics in particular.

“We think we have a better suite of solutions than the other guys, and we think we’re coming to market at exactly the right time, when the demand is better and the infrastructure is more mature,” said Koval.

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[RedlandRanger]

Looks like RAM is actually listening to truck owners and taking note. Chevy just announced they're investing 1B into ICE and now RAM sees that truck owners still need an ICE truck. That's not to say they're not going to come out with an EV truck, one (Ram 1500) is expected next year. They're just trying to perfect their EV's before it comes out and jump ahead of the competition. Glad to see someone out there is listening to truck owners who actually use their trucks for truck stuff!

With Ford so heavily invested in the new Blue Oval City I hope this doesn't come back to bite them. Sure technology will improve and maybe Ford will be ahead of the game who knows. But for now (and the forceable future) EV trucks will not be able to what many need them to do.

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/rams-evs-wont-replace-internal-170100241.html

I don't think Ford is planning on abandoning its ICE trucks in favor of all EVs. I think they are hedging their bets so that no matter what happens, they are prepared. I think it would be company suicide for them to abandon their ICE trucks. I seriously don't see Ford doing anything to jeopardize the F series truck "best seller" title. I really think that is one reason they don't push the Rangers more.

 

[AzScorpion]

I don't think Ford is planning on abandoning its ICE trucks in favor of all EVs. I think they are hedging their bets so that no matter what happens, they are prepared. I think it would be company suicide for them to abandon their ICE trucks. I seriously don't see Ford doing anything to jeopardize the F series truck "best seller" title. I really think that is one reason they don't push the Rangers more.

I don't think Ford will abandon ICE but they are very heavily invested in the Blue Oval City project. It just seems the others are realizing that the EV's especially trucks still won't do many "truck" things and are investing a good amount of money to keep ICE going. Ford seems to be taking a different approach putting billions onto EV's all across the line but especially the Lightning.

Yes the F150 is their top seller and I highly doubt they'll drop the ICE motor until the EV is (if ever) perfected to match one. It's still a head scratcher why they don't advertise and push the Ranger. I mean they're 2 different animals just like the Maverick. You're not going to give the Ranger a second look if you need a full size truck and need the towing/payload and vise versa. With all the mid size competition coming out with new refreshes Ford will hopefully start advertising the Ranger more or they'll definitely fall behind. I still get approached by people who didn't realize the Ranger was back here in the states.

 

[RedlandRanger]

I don't think Ford will abandon ICE but they are very heavily invested in the Blue Oval City project. It just seems the others are realizing that the EV's especially trucks still won't do many "truck" things and are investing a good amount of money to keep ICE going. Ford seems to be taking a different approach putting billions onto EV's all across the line but especially the Lightning.

Yes the F150 is their top seller and I highly doubt they'll drop the ICE motor until the EV is (if ever) perfected to match one. It's still a head scratcher why they don't advertise and push the Ranger. I mean they're 2 different animals just like the Maverick. You're not going to give the Ranger a second look if you need a full size truck and need the towing/payload and vise versa. With all the mid size competition coming out with new refreshes Ford will hopefully start advertising the Ranger more or they'll definitely fall behind. I still get approached by people who didn't realize the Ranger was back here in the states.

One thing is for sure - the next 5-10 years are going to be very interesting in the automotive world....

While Ford has invested heavily in EVs, it doesn't seem like they've reduced their investment in ICEs that much - certainly not with production facilities. If they start closing ICE production facilities then I will start worrying they are putting all their eggs in the EV basket.

 

[AzScorpion]

One thing is for sure - the next 5-10 years are going to be very interesting in the automotive world....

While Ford has invested heavily in EVs, it doesn't seem like they've reduced their investment in ICEs that much - certainly not with production facilities. If they start closing ICE production facilities then I will start worrying they are putting all their eggs in the EV basket.

Interesting is an understatement. lol

So far all I've seen is them close all the Brazilian plants down and have a few layoffs. Nothing much here in the states but who knows what's going to happen with the economy this year. It just seems like Ram (and Chevy) sees the need for big the investment to keep ICE trucks for "work" things where I've seen nothing from Ford but EV talk.

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