Ram is touting the new Ramcharger truck, which is an extended-range electric, or E-REV.
The Ramcharger is not the first E-REV on the market — the Chevrolet Volt blazed that particular trail some 15 years ago — but it is one of only a few that we’ve seen for sale over the years.
Extended-range electrics promise a long range because an onboard gasoline-powered generator can kick on to recharge the electric motor. Not only that, but customers won’t need to fret over finding an EV charger — they can just fill ‘er up with dead-dino juice when the gas tank gets too empty and the generator can’t be used to charge the electric motor.
Yet we haven’t seen many on the market. We’ve seen plenty of hybrid models, including many a plug-in, but E-REVs have been limited. The Volt garnered the most attention, and the BMW i3 is a thing that existed. Other than that, the market has been slim pickings. Why?
Cost and complexity seem the obvious culprits, along with weight, but hybrids and plug-in hybrids run into the same issues.
Maybe E-REVs got left behind as automakers scrambled to produce true battery-electric vehicles — OEMs only have so many resources to go around, after all, and product planning is done years in advance, as we all know.
Not being a product planner, I am stumped. Maybe y’all have a better bead on this one that I.
Go ahead and sound off below.
[Image: Ram]
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