Set to be positioned below the popular Ram 1500, the as-yet unnamed dual-cab ute will be built in the US and go up against mid-sized pickups in the market, such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.
Speaking at the Kepler Cheuvreux Autumn Conference, Antonio Filosa – CEO of Stellantis, parent company of Ram – said the pickup will launch in its home market in 2027, and development is already advanced.
“That is now a product for 2027,” Filosa said when asked about the timing of the pickup’s debut.
“What I can say is that two weeks ago I was in our design centre in Detroit and I saw the car itself – not only the sketches and design, but the clay model, and it’s just beautiful. It’s amazing.
“All the specs that we are imagining in the product briefing are very good in the segment. So that’s why [in] 2027 we will have a very strong Ram offer in that segment.
While it was first expected to adopt the Dakota nameplate – reviving the badge which adorned Dodge and Ram’s previous mid-size pickup – that has now been used on a South American market, Chinese-based ute.
Ram has previously confirmed its new ute will be a body-on-frame vehicle like the vast majority of mid-sizers on the market, though it’s not yet known what could power it.
In the US, petrol engines are far more popular than diesels in the mid-size segment, as opposed to Australia where turbo-diesel utes reign supreme.
Ram Trucks Australia has already signalled its intention to get the new ute, should it become available.
Given the success of the 1500 locally – which has to be converted from left- to right-hand drive in Melbourne – Ram may have to build the new model in right-hand drive from the factory to give it a chance against the Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max.
“[The] mid-size truck in the future could be potentially [offered],” Ram Australia general manager Jeff Barber said last month. “They could do a left-hand drive and a right-hand drive, mid-size potentially, who knows? But I don’t ever see that happening in the full-size trucks.
“In relation to our relationship with Stellantis, the support we get, it’s fantastic. I think they’re very impressed by what we do in this market in Australia and New Zealand.
“And in the same way you draw reference to the sales of their other brands in Australia, whether that be Jeep or Fiat or Alfa [Romeo] or Citroen or Peugeot, yeah, we do a very good job here. So yeah, we get very good support from them, which might be what opens up doors like [the 1500] Rebel.”
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