Ram ProMaster EV delivers a pink slip to diesel last-mile vans

Stellantis’ Ram brand may be best known for flaunting all the attitude with its Rebel and TRX pickups. But on Tuesday it revealed a lineup that looks no-frills yet goes fully electric. 

Its ProMaster Electric Van family is the first fully electric vehicle for Ram, and it leads the way—in tech, if not design statement—toward future EVs including the Ram 1500 REV electric pickup. 

The ProMaster EV lineup includes a delivery model plus two cargo models, and the latter two include standard 12-foot or extended 13.5-foot cargo lengths. 

All of the initial versions of the ProMaster EV lineup are built on a 159.0-inch wheelbase, while the delivery version gets a roll-up rear door and a high-roof layout allowing up to an 86.0-inch cargo height and a 75.6-inch cargo width. The delivery version also has a heated steering wheel and heated windshield. Cargo versions come with a pocket door and offer two different roof heights, bringing the lineup to a total of five variants. 

All versions of the ProMaster EV lineup are powered by the same drive module at the front wheels, providing 268 hp and 302 lb-ft of torque. The ProMaster EV has different specs than its corporate cousin, the Fiat e-Ducato, with a 110-kwh battery pack, mounted underneath the floor. It allows a range of up to 162 miles in city driving, Ram claims, with fast-charging offered at up to 150 kw and 240-volt AC charging at up to 11 kw via a wallbox. No charging times have been given as of yet.

These vans are ready for upfits to fit specific tasks or conversions, and Ram notes that the front-wheel-drive layout aids with that. 

Rivals include the Rivian EDV, Mercedes eSprinter, and Ford E-Transit. As of yet, there’s no consumer version of any of these vans, but it’s a possibility and a form factor that has been offered in family upfits in the past.

As Ram has confirmed, a hydrogen fuel-cell van is also on the way. 

These electric vans will be fleet-connected for low cost of ownership, enabled partly through telematics services that will help provide fleet managers and drivers with insights promoting efficiency. The ProMaster EV, through those telematics services, will also support over-the-air vehicle firmware updates, apps over the air, and a wifi hotspot, and its infotainment system gets over-the-air map updates.

Up front, the interior of the ProMaster EV features a 10.1-inch configurable touchscreen display with a customizable home screen and five user profiles, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and an Alexa In-Vehicle Assistant.

Payload for the ProMaster EV cargo van ranges up to to 3,020 pounds, while the delivery version offers up to 2,030 pounds of payload capacity, plus last-mile walking directions for drivers and an Alexa in-vehicle virtual assistant. 

Stellantis says that the ProMaster EV will offer SAE Level 2 assisted driving, called Active Driving Assist and incorporating radar sensors and cameras. It will also include dynamic routing features, with both a charging station locator and dynamic trip prediction that taps into real-time battery capacity. A high-resolution backup mirror is included and a digital rearview mirror and surround-view camera system are available. In addition to that, the ProMaster EV vans include a suite of active-safety items, including driver drowsiness detection.