Iveco Daily 4x4 down under

[MJAB]

I always thought that the in Ram presentation of some years ago of Ram portfolio the two covered vehicles were Ram Promaster / Fiat Ducato and the other one being Ram ... / Iveco Daily.

Here is the Iveco Daily 4x4 in action in Australia.
Newer version in european market is less capable.

Engine is FTP Industrial F1C 3 liters disel engine (the same previously also used in Ram Promaster), it has double reduction and a 6 speed manual gearbox (= 24 forward and 4 rear).
Project and engineering of the Daily 4x4 was outsourced to a small italian company years ago.
As all vehicles has its own problems, some have been resolved, others could be easily resolved by just using inhouse parts (or front other suppliers), but You know sometimes managers have not so elastic mindset (but than service have to go everywhere You are to fix it).

In this video can be seen that in other countries the "offroad world" doesn't turns around Jeep Wrangler. An opportunity for FCA, well if there is someone willing to bring different products, not mandatory being Jeep branded.

 

[redriderbob]

Ram and Iveco was the original FCA plan

Will Chrysler Return to Class 8 Trucks? Link with Fiat's Iveco Might Make It So

Will Chrysler return to the Class 8 market that it left 34 years ago? Fred Diaz, CEO of Chrysler LLC's Dodge Ram Truck, said his group will explore expansion into heavy trucks while it adds Euro-style cargo vans and a new American light pickup. They'll all be called Rams but not overtly Dodge...

www.truckinginfo.com

 

[patfromigh]

Jeep offers two different 4Xe systems. There is a front drive based hybrid setup with a rear e-axle, and there is the mechanical 4X4 Jeep Wrangler with the ZF hybrid transmission. I suspect that going forward there won't be any vans which won't have some sort of electrification option. The Jeep connection offers an economy of scale.

The Iveco Daily would be a good fit in the Ram lineup because it can use rear drive Jeep powertrain pieces. The V6 and V8 engines might not fit, but the inline four and future six would. The 3 liter four cylinder diesel has no future and FCA has since moved on to a 2.3 liter unit for those markets with stricter emissions requirements. A Daily based van would be able to fill in the GVW ranges beyond the current reach of the Ram ProMaster. The future of LCVs is electric for both sides of the Atlantic. Iveco has marketed a battery electric Daily for a number of years, but better drivetrain parts and batteries are now available.

The e-Ducato is now in production and we await which electrification strategies will show up in the Ram ProMaster. I would like to see the Pacifica's hybrid setup in the ProMaster and a rear e-axle combined with the e-Ducato's battery modules. Then they would have an AWD van. There should also be a fully battery electric option offered as well.

Getting back to Iveco, it doesn't look like that enterprise is a part of Stellantis. Ferrari isn't either for that matter, but still contributes parts and engineering to FCA products. Should the Daily be built in North America? Is it built in Latin America? The Iveco Daily seems to be sold everywhere but North America. Stellantis could import kits like Daimler did with vans for a few years, but Ram also has domestic engines and transmissions which a Daily based van can use. If Jeep goes forward with a battery electric Wrangler, such parts could be used on a Daily based rear drive van, although the battery packaging would be different. The AWD system the Lx cars could be adapted as well, which is more practical than some Jeep 4 wheel drive transfer cases and axles for an urban delivery vehicle.

 

[patfromigh]

I think think the time is right for a rear drive Ram van to supplement the front-drive ProMaster. It seems that the Opel/Vauxhall brands still sell the Renault based Movano LCV. The Renault van can be either front drive in the lighter models or rear drive with the heavier GVW packages. The UK Ford Transit van uses the same strategy.

Before the FCA marriage, PSA Group had given their newly absorbed Opel unit the task of designing new LCVs for all the brands. Now Stellantis has the combined strength of the FCA brands as well. Instead of just designing a large LCV for Europe, there should be a design flexible enough for the markets in the Western Hemisphere as well. It would be great if Ram Trucks could compete with the Ford Transit van by adding more models to compete at the various market segments which the ProMaster doesn't cover.