An electric ute with up to 800km of range? Jeep and Ram unlock 1.2 tonne payload and over six-tonne towing capacity to battle future electric versions of the Toyota Tundra, Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota LandCruiser

Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat, has revealed its latest new platform as part of its new STLA range that will underpin its future model range across all of its brands.

Dubbed STLA Frame, the new platform is a dedicated ladder-on-frame design, which will support both range extender and fully electric vehicles for off-road and load-lugging applications.

Stellantis said the STLA Frame platform was designed from the beginning to support “Uncompromised power and durability and prioritise capability, practicality and performance.”

The group also said the platform “is designed to deliver class-leading range of up to 1100km in REEV (Range Extender EV) format and 800km in BEV” with “a maximum towing capacity of 6350kg and a payload rating of 1224kg. Additionally, the platform supports water fording of up to 610mm making it ready for challenging environments and diverse use cases.”

The STLA Frame platform is also capable of supporting pure combustion, plugless hybrid or even hydrogen power in the future.

The frame platform is designed for ‘full-size’ pick-ups and SUVs according to American-market standards, meaning total lengths between 5488 and 5941mm long, a width of between 2062 and 2124mm, and wheelbases that range from 3143 to 3690mm.

2023 RAM 1500 Revolution concept

It can support 800-volt electrical architectures and is capable of bi-directional charging for vehicle-to-load or vehicle-to-grid applications.

The dual electric drive motor modules are each capable of driving up to 250kW, with the brand predicting 0-100km/h sprint times as low as 4.4 seconds.

STLA Frame will first support RAM and Jeep products in the group, likely to be successors to the current Jeep Gladiator and RAM 1500. Stellantis’ outgoing CEO, Carlos Tavares said there was an “upcoming product blitz” on Jeep and Ram.

2023 RAM 1500 Revolution concept

For a hint at what to expect, Ram displayed its 1500 Revolution concept at CES in 2023 which previewed a battery electric take on the 1500 formula.

On top of the headline platform capabilities, the 1500 BEV concept also had four-wheel steering, ‘up to 28-inches of screen space’ in the cabin with an augmented reality head-up display, up to 350kW of DC charging peak speed, a high degree of autonomous driving features, and even a built-in projector.

The STLA Frame is the third platform revealed as part of the group’s future product roll-out, adding to the already unveiled STLA Medium (a development of the EMP2 platform currently used by Peugeot in Europe) and STLA Large platform, which will support the incoming Jeep Wagoneer S and next-generation Dodge Charger.

2023 RAM 1500 Revolution concept

An upcoming STLA Small platform, which will succeed the current CMA (compact modular architecture) platform, is expected to debut on the next-generation Fiat 500 later in the decade.

The developments at Stellantis come as the group is under siege, particularly in North America, where the brand is struggling with competitiveness and high inventory as its new-generation products simply aren’t selling in the right volumes.

According to reports out of the USA, Jeep and Ram dealers are unhappy with the leadership of Tavares, who was previously the CEO of Groupe PSA prior to its merger with Fiat Chrysler to make today’s Stellantis, due to his focus on the group’s European operations.

2023 RAM 1500 Revolution concept

Tavares is perhaps most famous for decreeing that each of the 14 Stellantis brands (which covers marques as diverse as RAM to Lancia) were each to be given ten years to turn things around or face being shut down.

Tavares recently said he had resisted a push from an unnamed Chinese brand to buy an unnamed French brand in the group. Under his leadership, the Leapmotor Chinese joint-venture, has flourished into a brand intended to boost the group’s global competitiveness.

His leadership is set to end in 2026, at which point some brands in the group could be facing the axe. No doubt the official reveal of the SLTA Large platform will help dampen fears of the group’s US operations falling behind rivals.

2023 RAM 1500 Revolution concept

For now, the other two brands in the Detroit “Big Three”, Ford and GM, have already launched EV pick-ups, the F-150 Lightning and Silverado EV, respectively. There’s now a new threat from Volkswagen Group’s reinvigorated Scout, which will launch a ‘full-size’ pick-up truck and SUV next year, with a similar range (EV and range extender) and capabilities as the big US players.