The move away from V8 power for its 1500 lineup isn’t the only big news for US pickup manufacturer RAM in 2025. The brand has confirmed that the 1500’s bigger, more muscular siblings are also in line for a major update this year – and the changes in their engine bays may be just as dramatic.

The RAM 2500 and RAM 3500 are the brand’s heavy-duty workhorse models, with huge towing capacities (the 2500 achieves the car-license-legal maximum of 4,500kg on a regular hitch, or 8,000kg on a gooseneck with air brakes) and massive 12-tonne-plus gross combination masses (GCM) being their calling cards. Favoured for heavy towing work by companies reluctant to purchase medium-duty trucks, the RAM 2500 and 3500 also maintain a ute-like civility that makes them desirable for sole trader owner-operators who need a tough workhorse for weekdays, and a spacious family-sized cabin for weekends.

In the USA, both model lines have been gifted an extensive facelift to keep the big pickups fresh, and by the end of 2025, those facelifts will likely work their way to our shores too. The redesign doesn’t touch the sheet metal, but applies a new grille (chrome or body colour, depending on variant), bisected headlamps, new taillights and new wheels to the big RAM’s blunt-nosed body. Inside, the cabin furniture reflects the treatment given to the new-generation 1500, with a 14.5” infotainment display sitting alongside a 12” electronic driver’s instrument panel and a unique 10.25” passenger-side screen in high-grade models.

One of the more useful updates for the 2025 model year RAM 2500 and 3500 is the provision of a 2.4kW onboard inverter, which provides mains power to outlets mounted in the bed. Power levels rise under the bonnet too, with changes to the 6.7L turbo diesel inline-six’s variable-geometry turbo and high-pressure injector system unlocking peak outputs of 321kW of power and a colossal 1,458Nm of torque – increases of 45kW and 306Nm respectively versus the pre-update RAM 2500 Yellowstone Edition that’s still on sale in Australia.

Will Australia-bound facelifted 2500s and 3500s receive the same engine outputs? With the previously-optional high-output engine, which is the motor boasting the above numbers, now becoming the standard-issue motor in the USA, it seems likely that Australia will take the same offering, however with the current economic situation in the USA currently playing havoc with manufacturing costs across all industries, it remains to be seen what kind of pricing RAM’s local distributor will apply to its facelifted workhorses. Watch this space.