It's a truck with an electric engine. It's a truck with a diesel engine helping to extend the car's range. And it's catching the attention of one well-known mechanic who might need to work on it someday.
That's the verdict on a Dodge Ram hybrid truck currently under production, providing drivers a range anxiety-free experience and yet burning diesel fuel in the process.
The team at Royalty Auto Service, the Georgia-based mechanic shop that's prolific on TikTok, explored the concept in a recent chat captured in a video put up on Oct. 11 and getting 1.2 million views since.
The new Dodge Ram diesel hybrid
Owner Sherwood Cooke, Jr., along with two of the shop's mechanics, contemplate the car maker's plans, calling it "lunatic fringe" at one point.
"It's a plug-in electric vehicle," he observes. "They're putting in a Pentastar V6 engine for the extended range. What we've heard will be in the truck, mounted, it'd be part of the truck, under the hood."
"Nothing directly to do with the drive," another mechanic chimes in.
"It is literally just going to charge the battery," Cooke continues. "So you're going to have a gas engine in this vehicle to just charge the battery for the extended range."
That gets them pondering a more ridiculous version of this concept. He says, "We're just going to put a diesel generator on a trailer behind the truck, run a cable up to it and just have it charging."
They figure, if they could get the right electrical engineer on such a plan, they could keep the battery charged "long enough to just keep going and not ever have to charge it."
Dodge Ram Diesel HEV specs
Stellantis, in a press release from December, touted plans for its truck. The press release states that the Ram HEV features "start-stop capability," in addition to a regenerative braking system that helps recharge the batteries. It claims that fuel savings will add up to about 15% compared to similar engines.
It also notes, "The Dodge Ram Diesel HEV is built on the Ram Heavy Duty (2500/3500) chassis and is equipped with diesel/electric hybrid propulsion. Diesel works well as a hybrid because there is fuel economy savings with a diesel compared to a similar gasoline engine. And, in the case of our 325hp/600 lb-ft Cummins Turbo Diesel, there isn't a comparable gasoline or diesel engine."
Simply put: The truck, on its own, can generate enough power to run four average households.
And it's not only Dodge
A CNN story added that "with a fully charged battery pack and a full tank of gas, the Ramcharger should be [able] to drive a total of about 690 miles before needing recharge or refill."
One competing truck company based in Canada, Edison Motors, saw fit to respond in the comments section of the video to talk about its diesel-electric hybrids. "The advantage of the electric is it torque & regen," a representative wrote. "The advantage of the diesel is range. You have the best of both worlds with this setup."
The company's website claims it is "a privately owned Canadian clean technology company that manufactures electric semi-trucks" employing diesel engines.
What do commenters think?
People had opinions on the truck and on electric cars in general.
"Honestly, hybrid is the only good way forward," one opined. "EV infrastructure and tech just isn't there. Toyota has been doing it for 20 years and honestly you can't argue that hybrids are just better."
"They basically 'created' a mini locomotive," another pointed out. "Except it runs on gas instead of diesel. I mean I guess it fixes range anxiety lol."
"You guys should be pointing out how smart this is," another remarked. "Think about being able to power a campsite or work site infinitely. Or in a disaster situation unless your truck floats away."
Royalty did, however, tell Edison in response to its comment, "We approve! Y’all keep up the great work!"
The Daily Dot reached out to Stellantis via email for comment. We also reached out to Royalty Auto Service via online comment form and TikTok comment.
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