This Could Be Ram's Secret Weapon In The EV Wars (2024)

Stellantis made news recently when its CEO declaredit would cut any brand that couldn’t turn a profit. It doesn’t look like Ram Professional will be part of those cuts, because Ram’s really going for the gold when it comes to assisting its professional and commercial customers. It’s not just diesel trucks or big gas commercial vans—it has some big ideas when it comes to fleet financing and commercial vehicle charging infrastructure, too.

The commercial vehicle arm of Ram has existed for a while. But for 2024 it’s undergoing a huge overhaul as it figures out ways to move past the standard model of simply selling trucks and vans to fleet customers that have the money.

Like other manufacturers dipping their toes into the connected vehicle pool, Ram Professional sees itself moving into acting as a full-suite service provider. This goes past just selling and servicing vehicles, but also into the realm of vehicle financing, vehicle upfitting, connected services (fleet management) and, most relevant to us, charging infrastructure.

Basically, Ram wants the Ram Professional dealership to be a one-stop-shop when it comes to a business’s fleet vehicle needs. They’re attempting to streamline the process, especially for smaller fleets, who might need more help with financing, upfitting and if applicable – charging. That’s part of the whole name change from “Ram Commercial” to “Ram Professional.”

“A lot of business customers don’t see themselves as commercial—think of a flower shop— they use vans for delivery. They identify as professional, but don’t see themselves as commercial…I think we cast a larger umbrella, [with this name]” said Dave Sowers, the Director of Commercial Vehicle Product Marketing, referring to the division’s new name and renewed focus.

“One piece of Ram Professional is to offer charging solutions for fleets, so we can come in and help facilitate instillation in their terminal locations, or other solutions,” said Sowers. That even includes helping secure financing for the whole shebang, from vehicle purchase itself to upfitting to the whole vehicle for use, to fleet management, data management or charging management.

But unlike other outfits that need to get these programs running, services already exist under the Stellantis umbrella. Mobilisights is Stellantis’ data management arm, and Free2Charge is its vehicle charging hub. Both units were already advertising their abilities for fleet management but now there’s a concentrated effort to make it all work smoothly for Ram’s fleet customers. Stellantis’s fleet-oriented credit solutions will be able to offer commercial customers up to $12 million worth of credit for its fleet services, including for vehicles that have been upfit for use.

“As the EV adoption increases, a typical residential user doesn’t have to upgrade their electrical service, they can put a Level 2 wall box in their house, and can charge. But in an industrial environment, you’re talking about 40 to 50 vehicles, and things start to go uphill pretty quickly,” said Sowers. This is why Stellantis allows buyers to specify DC fast charging speeds from 50 to 125 kW. Of course, Stellantis’ Free2Charge would be able to ensure the fleet client is choosing the right speeds and vehicles appropriate for an electrified fleet and the facilities they have access to.

“The good thing about the Professional segment is that these customers want those services. There’s a return on investment for all these things—they want to know what’s going on with their vehicles, they want [data and information],” Sowers said.

InsideEVs

Although innovative, Stellantis isn’t alone here in its fleet-oriented EV push. Ford’s fleet division called Ford Pro, offers a similar range of services. Ford’s Pro division has been a huge money maker for the brand, raking in $184.5 billion in revenue since 2021. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. GM’s BrightDrop step vans were meant to go right at the Rivian EDV, yet the brand was folded back into GM itself as it is no longer a standalone subsidiary. GM cited softer than expected demand for the electric vans that caused the death of the subsidiary.

Will Ram Professional follow in the follow in the footsteps of Ford? Or will it burst into flames like GM? Only time will tell, but Stellantis’s Professional versions of brands like Fiat and Citroen have been reasonably successful around the world. There’s no official date that Ram expects to get officially started with its full suite of services, but it has been recruiting dealers to jump on board.