Truck builder Ram unveiled its first all-electric truck, the Ram 1500 Revolution, early last year. As Ram hoped, its targeted range of about 500 miles sent a buzz through the industry; as the country builds up charging infrastructure, big range numbers and fast charging attract the most attention.
The Revolution also showcased a host of slick features, like coach doors that opened out to reveal a configurable cabin, a retractable steering wheel, and a pass-through cargo option that enabled transport of objects up to 18-feet long. However, it was the removable third-row jump seats that piqued the curiosity of SUV fans in the middle of a large-vehicle surge. GearJunkie called it a “pickup truck van,” which seems apropos.
When Ram debuted its REV, the production version of the Revolution concept, these features were all missing, leading to some ripples of disappointment. Take heart, because Ram has filed and published a patent for “a jump seat configured to be attached to and detached from a rear wall of the passenger cabin.”
Perhaps a three-row pickup isn’t far away.
What’s in the works?
Ram/SRT’s prolific chief designer for interiors Ryan Nagode came up with the idea for the track seating when he noticed parents hauling around stadium seats to their kids’ sporting events. He wondered if something like that could be incorporated into the truck and successfully integrated the idea into the cabin of the Revolution concept.
“There have been vehicles in the past with jump seats, and I think there is a lot of reality built into these ideas,” Nagode told Popular Science last February. “Obviously, some of these things take a little pushing and pulling with the engineering team, but I think it’s not far-fetched.”
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told Motor Trend in April 2023 that “everything that you have seen on the CES concept car will come at different steps of the lifecycle management or for the next generation, depending on the feature.” Coach doors, extra-long cargo tunnel, removable seats…all these may be in the works as we speak.
Real interest could drive the concept forward
Electric vehicles float the possibility of new packaging and features that gas-powered cars can’t. For instance, an EV doesn’t need a transmission tunnel, which makes room for a pass-through cargo area. Extending the cabin area could make room for a third row with modular elements, says Robby DeGraff, Manager, Product and Consumer Insights for analyst firm AutoPacific.
“When you ditch a vehicle’s common ICE components (engine, transmission, etc), it can really free up an interior and result in way more space for both occupants and cargo,” he says. “That’s what Ram took advantage of here. Obviously, the production-ready truck doesn’t have the cool third-row jump seats we saw on the concept, but there is some demand for it, as our research revealed.”
The idea of a removable set of seats might sound like a gimmick, so the analysts at AutoPacific decided to put the concept to the test. After seeing the concept truck up close at the Consumer Electronics Show and Chicago Auto Show, the AutoPacific team polled potential buyers about whether or not there was any actual interest in a three-row pickup truck. As it turns out, 15 percent of all future pickup truck buyers want third-row jump seats on their next vehicle, especially electrified pickup trucks (plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles).
“As expected, we learned that younger buyers, households with children, and especially female shoppers would be very interested in buying a new pickup truck with a third-row seat,” DeGraff says. “That fifteen percent take rate may not seem that big of a deal, but when you consider nearly three million pickup trucks were sold in the states last year, automakers may seek reward in offering an available third row.”
As the demand for minivans declined in recent years, automakers ramped up three-row SUV options instead. DeGraff’s colleague Ed Kim, president and chief analyst of AutoPacific, says that’s a reflection of millennial customers in search of a large family vehicle. Ram designed the Rev with the ability to recapture 100 miles of range in approximately 10 minutes with 800-volt DC fast charging (up to 350 kilowatts).
“Millennials are approaching their peak income years. If you’re not playing in the three-row space, you’re not addressing a huge part of the marketplace,” Kim told ABC News.
The patent filing gives me a little hope that the launch of the first three-row pickup could be imminent. And then I wouldn’t have to remember to pack stadium seats for my next baseball game, either.