Earlier this year, Chrysler delivered the first 20 units of its coming 140 Ram plug-in hybrid truck test fleet. 10 Ram Plug-in Hybrid trucks went to Clark County Nevada, and 10 went to Yuma Arizona. The Chrysler Plug-in Hybrid pickup truck project is a $97 million effort, with the Department of Energy contributing $40 million of funding through the Recovery Act. The project is set to run through June of 2014.The Ram Plug-in Hybrid is a blended hybrid. Blended hybrids don’t run on pure electric through the whole charge depletion period – the gasoline engine will kick in to aid in acceleration and high speed driving. The Plug-in Hybrid pickup has an all-electric equivalent range of 20 miles, meets AT-PZEV emissions standards, and have a fuel economy in the city of more than 32 MPG.
The Ram Plug-in Hybrid is equipped with the 5.7L Hemi v8 engine, a 2 mode hybrid transmission, and an electric motor. There is a 12.9kWh liquid cooled battery pack, thermal systems, and a 6.6kW charger/inverter. The Ram Plug-in hybrid is equipped with a J1772 level1/2 charger. The Plug-in Hybrid Ram Truck is capable of 7200 GVW, 12,100 GCWR and can operate in temperatures from -20 degrees F to 125 degrees F.
Among the features Chrysler developed for the Ram Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle are:
- Thermal management of Li-ion battery system capable of heating the high voltage battery in extreme cold, and cooling the high voltage battery in extreme hot temperatures, ensuring an optimal operating temperature range.
- Powertrain control system to limit operation within the power limitations of the Li-ion battery over ambient temperature range of -20 °F to 125 °F and to help ensure reliable and predictable plug-in hybrid vehicle performance.
- Onboard charging system capable of charging up to 7.5 kW (currently limited to 6.6 kW).
- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle systems for cold start, cold drive, EV Drive, start/stop, thermal management, battery SOC operational boundaries, torque security validation, and transmission dynamometer for E-Motor PHEV duty cycle.
- Inverter system to support power panel, vehicle-to-grid power flow (V2G), and micro-grid functions up to 6.6 kW.
