FCA had their Capital Markets day last Friday, June 1st, in which they outlined their 5 year plan for all global brands. As part of the 5 year plan for the Ram brand a new mid-sized pickup is shown with an on sale date before 2022, getting them back in the market created by the Dodge Dakota in 1987.
Production of the Ram HD trucks will be moving from Saltillo, Mexico to Warren, Michigan for the upcoming 5th Generation Ram HD . At a press conference back in January after the opening day at the North American International Autoshow, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne was asked what would be produced at the Saltillo plant after it is freed up. Marchionne responded by saying that “We need a metric ton truck (read: mid-sized), for global use.” He also said that “In the majority of markets it will be branded as a Ram while it would be branded as a Fiat in select markets.”
Currently FCA sells a midsized pickup in select markets called the Ram 1200 or Fiat Fullback depending on region. This truck is essentially just a rebadged Mitsubishi L200/Triton. With Nissan now holding a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors, it is likely that FCA would have had to find a different partner to source their next gen rest of world midsized truck from. With the midsized truck market growing in North America it makes more sense for FCA to develop their own, in house midsized truck that would be competitive in the North American market and the rest of the world.
Now that FCA’s 5 year plan has been revealed we now know that the new mid-size Ram will be on sale before the end of the 2022 model year. The new mid sizer will go global, including being available in the North American market.
Expect the new Ram midsizer (We don’t know the name yet) to follow a very similar formula as the new Ford Ranger. In an effort to keep sales prices below Ram 1500 prices we expect 1 frame and wheelbase length resulting in an extended cab long bed and crew cab short bed configuration only. We also think there will be only one powertrain combination available in the new truck but it is too early to speculate on what that could be.
We anticipate the new truck to share in the Ram family resemblance. There were a few photos floating around last year that were presumed to be the upcoming 2019 Ram 1500, since that truck has been revealed we now know that these photos were either an early Ram 1500 design that was scrapped, or could be of something else entirely such as the upcoming midsized truck. While the original photos showed the crosshair grille our forum member and contributor Ryan, photoshopped the front end of the truck to match up with the direction that Ram is going in.
All in all, we are excited to see Ram get back into this market space. Dodge had many successful years with the Dakota and FCA’s product keeps getting better and better with each release. If they follow in the footsteps of the Ram 1500 I think they will really be onto something here.
Stay tuned to Mopar Insiders for more news on the new midsized truck and other FCA products as it becomes available and make sure to check out our Forums section for more great content.
