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Ram is on the point of tackle the Ford Ranger once more with an all-new ute, and now the CEO of father or mother firm Stellantis has teased the long-awaited dual-cab 4×4 pickup truck.
“That’s now a product for ’27,” mentioned Antonio Filosa on the Kepler Cheuvreux Autumn Convention when requested when Ram will introduce a so-called mid-size (Ranger-size) pickup.
“Two weeks in the past I used to be in our design centre in Detroit and I noticed the automotive itself – not solely the sketches and the design however the clay mannequin – and it’s simply lovely.
“And all of the specs that we’re imagining within the product briefing are superb within the section, in order that’s why 2027 we’ll have a really sturdy Ram provide in that section.”
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Mopar Insiders has beforehand reported the upcoming US-built ute will incorporate conventional body-on-frame development, just like the Ranger and Ram’s personal full-size pickup truck vary.
It’s unclear what powertrains it can provide, or whether or not it’ll be in-built right-hand drive, however has lengthy deliberate a ‘international metric-ton pickup’ on the market worldwide.
With looser emissions rules within the US beneath present president Donald Trump, there’s much less of a necessity for Ram to introduce electrical or plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Notably, Ram not too long ago confirmed it wouldn’t produce its electrical 1500 REV in spite of everything, although it’ll nonetheless launch an extended-range electrical car (EREV) that can now put on that identify (as an alternative of Ramcharger).
Ram’s final mannequin within the mid-size pickup section, the Dakota axed in 2011, supplied a selection of V6 and V8 petrol engines.
Whereas the mid-size ute section in Australia is dominated by diesel powertrains, which additionally account for the lion’s share of gross sales in different main ute markets like Thailand, it’s a unique story within the US market.
There, each car is obtainable completely with petrol energy. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, for instance, can be found completely with turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines, whereas the Nissan Frontier and Jeep Gladiator include naturally aspirated petrol V6s and the Ford Ranger provides a mix of turbo-four and twin-turbo V6 petrol engines.
There’s little in the way in which of electrification on this section, both, other than the turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid powertrain supplied within the Toyota Tacoma.
To get a diesel ute within the US, it is advisable step as much as a full-size pickup.
Ram will promote you a mid-size diesel ute in different markets, nonetheless. The unibody Ram Rampage supplied in Latin America, for instance, provides a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel 4 producing 147kW of energy and 450Nm of torque.
It’s doable Ram may put its Hurricane twin-turbo 3.0-litre inline petrol six in a brand new mid-size ute, which might permit it to sort out the Ranger much more instantly.
Present Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis has mentioned the corporate wants a extra reasonably priced ute to fit in beneath the 1500, following the axing of the previous-generation (DS-series) 1500 Traditional, saying earlier this 12 months he needs one “so unhealthy”.
Ram first indicated it might reintroduce a mid-size ute in July 2021 when it teased a brand new electrical mannequin – primarily based on the STLA Giant unibody structure – in wireframe… after which promptly by no means talked about it publicly once more.
Over a 12 months later in September 2022, then-Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr reportedly confirmed sellers an early idea of a mid-size ute “to gauge their curiosity”, after which confirmed an idea model to sellers in March 2023.
The then-Ram boss additionally confirmed to CarExpert the mannequin was being developed with worldwide and right-hand drive markets in thoughts.
It was subsequently confirmed through a labour settlement {that a} new ute would enter manufacturing in Stellantis’ Belvidere plant within the US state of Illinois in 2027.
Ram hasn’t supplied a car on this section in North America because it axed the Dakota in 2011, although it has supplied numerous mid-size utes in Latin America and the Center East.
That features the Ram 1200, a nameplate used on a rebadged Mitsubishi Triton for the Center East and a rebadged Changan F70 in Mexico.
An up to date model of the latter was revealed in idea guise in Brazil in August, bearing the Ram Dakota Dusk nameplate. It’s anticipated to be unique to Latin America.
It’s unclear what nameplate the brand new US-built pickup will put on, given the brand new Chinese language-based ute for Latin America may mud off the Dakota nameplate.
This was beforehand utilized by Dodge for 3 generations in North America, with the ultimate era briefly carrying the Ram nameplate.
