The Ram 1500 PHEV is powered by a 5.7-liter V-8 engine and a liquid-cooled 12.9kWhr lithium ion battery pack with and a 6.6 kilowatt on-board charger. Additional features include AC power generation of up to 6.6 kilowatts and regenerative braking to capture more energy. The trucks have four-wheel drive, but the mechanism driving the front wheels can be disconnected to improve fuel economy.

The PHEV Ram has an equivalent all-electric range of more than 20 miles, and it overachieved its fuel economy target of 32 mpg after depleting the battery’s charge. It can travel up to 1054 km (655 miles) with a full 26-gallon tank of gas. Towing capacity is rated up to 6,000 pounds, and payload is rated to 1,000 pounds.

As part of a $100 million research project in cooperation with the DOE, Chrysler has distributed more than 100 test Ram 1500 PHEVs throughout U.S. cities – including Yuma, Arizona, San Francisco, Sacramento, Charlotte, N.C., Boston and Albany, N.Y. – with the intent to gather market research. The program runs through June 2014. It will also demonstrate recharging the vehicles with customer input to obtain the most efficient charge rate, interfacing with power utilities via a so-called “smart-grid” and reverse power flow, where the trucks will act as generators to provide power back to the grid.