What Is Ram’s Upcoming Range Electric Paradigm Breaker (REPB) Pickup?

Since Stellantis’ EV Day 2021 presentation, the Ram brand has been pushing around a new electrified term that not many people have understood – Range Electric Paradigm Breaker (REPB). But thanks to the automotive online publication Autoblog and an interview with Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr., at the Chicago Auto Show, we are truly understanding what REPB will mean for the Ram Truck brand.

So what does REPB mean? Basically, it is a fancy way of saying “range-extender”. With the switch to electric vehicles, the public’s uneasiness about range anxiety (or the fear that a vehicle doesn’t have enough power to cover the distance needed to reach its intended destination) is at an all-time high. That goes double for those who actually use their pickup trucks for things like towing, which has proven to reduce range up to 50% depending on the vehicle, trailer, and road conditions. 

Not to mention, there are those who use their trucks for long-distance travel and do not want to stop for an hour or so every few hundred miles to recharge. Especially when it only takes a few minutes to stop at a gas/diesel station and top of their tank.

During the interview, Autoblog stated, “[Koval] noted that it will be a part of Ram trying to respond to customer interests and concerns, as well as offering more than expected. He didn’t go into detail about the powertrain, but it will launch alongside the electric model in 2024.”

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This means for the 2024 model year, Ram Trucks will launch not only the Ram 1500 BEV, but a Ram 1500 REPB model as well.

The Autoblog interview did not provide a ton of information about the new propulsion system, other than it would be based on the electric truck and have some sort of gasoline engine to provide power. That still doesn’t tell us if the gasoline engine will act like a generator to recharge the batteries, similar to how the Chevrolet Volt operated or if the engine will drive the rear or all of the wheels.

We could see Ram offer a small-displacement gasoline engine instead of offering a HEMI V8 as a generator, thus keeping weight down.

What we do know about the 2024 Ram 1500 BEV is that Ram Trucks promises that the truck will feature unique style and proportions. Judging by teasers from Ram in recent days, the trucks look to follow a similar shape to the all-new Chevrolet Silverado EV. Ram promises a sneak peek to gain consumer feedback, with a concept version to debut later this year.

The new vehicle will sit upon the STLA Frame architecture, which is currently based on the fifth-generation Ram 1500 platform. During the company’s EV Day 2021 presentation, Stellantis said that the STLA Frame architecture should accommodate 159 to 200+ kWh of batteries allowing a range of up to 500 miles (800 kilometers).

Stellantis says that the truck should accommodate its Electric Drive Module (EDM) #3 unit (150 to 330 kW), with two units (one front, one rear) to provide around 500 to 600 kW (670 to 804 horsepower) of output and four-wheel-drive (4×4) capability. We can also expect the 2024 Ram 1500 BEV and REPB models to follow from the rest of the electric truck offerings out there, with onboard power.

Source: Autoblog