Toyota HiLux-size electric pick-up concept has RAM dealers frothing in North America
RAM’s long-awaited answer to the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger has, as expected, been shown to US dealers ahead of its production start date in 2026.
The US pick-up truck brand has been without a smaller one-tonne dual-cab ute to rival the popular HiLux/Tacoma and Ranger since 2011, when the RAM Dakota was retired.
But now more details of the all-new ‘mid-size’ pick-up have emerged from a RAM dealer event in Las Vegas, where a brand-new all-electric concept vehicle was shown.
Dealers who spoke to US industry bible Automotive News said the new RAM ute was “spectacular”.
It’s not yet clear if the new model will be a global model also built in right-hand drive for export markets such as Australia, which is now one of the world’s biggest ute markets.
However, RAM Trucks International chief Bob Graczyk recently told carsales the cost-effectiveness of local RAM pick-up conversions – which has seen the RAM 1500 become a sell-out success – makes subsequent models like the RAM Dakota more likely to be sold in Australia, whether they’re produced in RHD ex-factory or ‘remanufactured’ locally.
“If there is a mid-size pick-up truck coming down the line for RAM, we’ll definitely take a look to see if it makes sense for us to do it as right-hand drive or for us to do it the other way [converted in Australia],” he said.
Back in 2021, RAM confirmed its new mid-size ute would measure around 5.4 metres long – roughly the same as the latest Ford Ranger – and while specific details are still to be divulged, one RAM dealer told Automotive News: “We’re going to be back in that [mid-size pick-up] game.”
Randy Dye said the US auto-maker’s new Ranger rival “without a doubt” looks like a proper RAM pick-up.
Other dealers told Automotive News the concept ute has design similarities to the RAM 1500 Revolution electric pick-up concept (pictured) that was revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early January and that it “…brings us back to a segment where we’ve been vacant for too long”.
It’s not yet clear whether the new battery-powered ute will reprise the RAM Dakota name but the concept’s internal reveal is generating a huge amount of buzz within its US dealer network – even if no petrol or diesel powertrains will be offered.
“I love our hot-rod stuff. I love our gas engines. I love all of that,” Dye told Automotive News.
“But if you take a minute and you think about performance, does it matter that it’s an ICE engine? Does it matter that it’s a diesel engine?
“As a matter of fact, number-wise, I would tell you that probably a lot of the EV platforms are better performing than the gas.”
RAM parent company Stellantis has previously confirmed the mid-size RAM ute would leverage its STLA Large platform – meaning it will be based around a car-like monocoque chassis rather than a rugged ladder-frame architecture as favoured by Australia’s top-selling utes.
It remains to be seen what sort of payload the new truck will handle, but it has previously been referenced as a global ‘metric-ton’ dual-cab, which would suggest a 1000kg tray capacity as per its chief rivals.
Towing capacity is also unknown at this stage, but the hay-hauling EV may struggle to match the 3500kg maximum offered by almost all of Australia’s most popular utes.
However, given the STLA Large platform houses large battery packs (101kWh and 118kWh) offering a cruising range of up to 800km, the new RAM Dakota should bring plenty of firepower, with dual-motor variants capable of generating up to 660kW of power.
Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.
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Keyword: ‘Spectacular’ new RAM ute concept shown to US dealers