5 Cool Facts About the 2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger

Mike Schlee
by Mike Schlee

The upcoming Ram 1500 Ramcharger is going to be unlike any pickup truck before it. In fact, it’s going to be unlike most vehicles currently on sale, period. Unlike the Ford F-150 Lightning or Rivian R1T, the Ramcharger is not a fully electric vehicle. Unlike other Ram 1500s, it’s not fully gas powered either.


The new truck will be a plug-in hybrid, but even there it defies the usual formula. Recently, we got to learn more about this technically complex truck and received some official specifications and figures. Below we highlight five cool facts about the 2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger.

There’s No Driveshaft, No Transmission


For starters, there is no driveshaft. Like a lot of electric vehicles, there will be two drive motors, one on each axle, that work independently of one another. Power for these motors comes from a battery pack, or once it’s depleted, a third motor, that is a generator.


Powering that generator motor is Ram’s ubiquitous 3.6-liter pentastar engine. However, unlike every other application of this engine, in the Ram 1500 Ramcharger it does not directly power any of the wheels. It’s purely a power source for the generator motor. When the battery pack is depleted, the V6 engine chugs away, spinning the generator motor to make enough power to keep the truck moving.


Four Levels of Power


So how much power does this entire system make? Max power is listed at 647 horsepower and 610 pound feet of torque.  The V6 engine makes 271 horsepower and 226 pound feet of torque on regular grade gasoline. The generator motor attached to the gas engine produces a peak of 202 kW, or 130 kW continuously.


Up front, the motor makes 250 kW of peak power, while the unit in the back makes a bit less peak power at 248 kW.


Big Power Leads to Big Performance


When all charged up and ready to go, the big pickup truck can get from 0 to 60 miles-per-hour in 4.5 seconds. That’s impressive considering the Ramcharger tips the scales at 7,507 pounds (3,405 kg). Although that weight figure is still quite a bit less weight than the all-electric Chevrolet Silverado EV, the Ramcharger is a good bit heavier than a conventional Ram 1500 pickup. Top speed is capped out at 114 mph, which is plenty enough for this type of vehicle.


Fuel Economy and Range


We already knew the Ramcharger is coming to market with a 91.8 kWh battery pack, but now we know a bit more. The usable amount of that battery will be 69.7 kWh, allowing it to operate between 16.75% charge and 97%. By keeping the battery pack in this range, it should increase the 1,216-pound pack’s longevity.


Ram still estimates all electric power to be around 145 miles on a single charge, with total vehicle range around an estimated 690 miles. Fuel economy figures for the gas engine are 60 MPGe combined, or 20 MPG combined when the battery pack is emptied.  


There’s Big Capacity and Capability Too


Although the new Ramcharger will be heavy and incorporate unconventional suspension/drivetrain components, Ram is still confident it can do truck things. Payload is listed at 2,625 pounds, while max towing is an impressive 14,000 pounds.


More details, like price, available trims, etc. will be available closer to the truck's launch.


Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter  here.

Mike Schlee
Mike Schlee

A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.

More by Mike Schlee

Comments
Join the conversation
Next