Ram Will Continue The Ram 1500 Classic Beyond 2019 Model Year:

With the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announcement, yesterday of investment and update changes to several manufacturing plants in the Detroit area came some big news about the Ram 1500 Classic. For those who don’t know, the Ram Truck brand is currently still building the last generation of Ram 1500 (DS) pickups at their Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Warren, Michigan.

The Ram 1500 (DS) models which are now called Ram 1500 Classic, made their debut in 2008 as 2009 model year trucks. It was the first all-new product to come from the Chrysler Group (FCA US) since it’s “merger of equals” from Daimler, had come to an end. The Ram 1500 (DS) trucks received a major update in the 2013 model year, which propelled the lineup’s sales vastly during the past six years. In that time, the truck won many awards including back-to-back Motor Trend Truck of the Year titles in 2013 and 2014.

Ram continued production of the Ram 1500 Classic (DS) after the all-new 2019 Ram 1500 (DT) made its introduction in early 2018. The Ram 1500 Classic allowed the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) to ramp up production of the all-new Ram 1500,  however with large incentives on the hood of the pickups sales of the aging truck continue steadily.  This has helped the Ram Truck brand continue to grow in its quest to surpass the Chevrolet brand as the #2 best-selling pickups.

It doesn’t look like the Ram 1500 Classic (DS) is going anywhere anytime soon, as the FCA official statement says that it will be built alongside the all-new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer (WS) at its current home at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant. 

In addition to the new Jeep models, the plant would continue building the Ram 1500 Classic, which is being extended to meet market demand. – FCA US

This means that while the Warren Truck Assembly Plant will continue the Ram 1500 Classic Quad and Crew Cab models, the Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant (Saltillo, Mexico) will continue to produce the Ram 1500 Regular Cab models along with the new 2019 Ram Heavy Duty lineup. According to our sources, we won’t see a new Ram 1500 (DT) Regular Cab model anytime soon.

While Ram will have to make a minor investment to update the (DS) model trucks to allow them to continue to meet regulations, Ram will continue to offer unique packages on the trucks to help them remain attractive to potential customers. This was shown in the past month, with the introduction of the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic Ignition Orange and the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic Warlock packages.

With the Ram 1500 Classic continuing production past the 2019 model year, it offers benefits to both FCA US and the customers. For FCA US, the current Ram 1500 Classic (DS) tooling is well paid for and will continue bringing a huge profit for the automaker for future products. For customers, it allows FCA to be able to continue offering a cheaper option for the truck buyer with large incentives.