Unibody Ram Rampage will remain a South American only model with no plans in place for exporting to other markets. Image: Ram
Ram’s much reported, on-again, off-again on rival for the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger has taken its biggest step towards becoming a reality based on a new claim from the much publicised United Auto Workers (UAW) strike in the United States that ended on Tuesday (31 October) after affiliated workers downed tools six weeks ago.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Ram parent company, Stellantis, had commenced work on two different bakkies for both international and the South American market, the latter since revealed as the unibody Ram Rampage that went on-sale at the end of August.
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The topic of much speculation since the discovery of a trademark submission for the Dakota nameplate three years ago, the junior sibling of the Ram 1500 indirectly received approval as happening after former Ram boss, Mike Koval, admitted that a prototype was “in the concept phase”.
“We’ve been talking about (the return of a Ram mid-size pick-up) forever and I have committed to myself and to my team… this is the leadership team that is going to execute (bring the vehicle to production). We will be the team that delivers this,” the now head of the Mopar accessories division for North America told drive.com.au at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in April.
In ending the strike though, which CNBC.com claims had cost Stellantis $3.2-billion in lost revenue – significantly more than Ford’s $1.3-billion and General Motors’ $800-million – UAW Vice-President Rich, Boyer, announced in a YouTube statement that the former Jeep Cherokee plant in Belvidere, Illinois would be retooled for the production of a new “mid-size truck” that would be assembled “in two shifts” from a still unspecified date.
Closed in February this year after the conclusion of Cherokee production as a result of slumping sales, the 58-year old plant has been idling ever since with its closure being described as “temporary” as negotiations about its future between the UAW and Stellantis started.
Reportedly, some 1 300 workers were laid-off in a move the UAW’s Director, Brendon Campbell, described as “economic blackmail” on the part of Stellantis.
Besides confirming the new bakkie, Boyer also announced that “over 1 000 jobs” will be resorted at a new battery plant in Belvidere for either the Dakota, suggesting the newcomer could either be electric or hybrid motivated, or preview a product that will ride on one of Stellantis’ dedicated electric STLA platforms all of the marque’s brands will use before it switches to full EV propulsion before 2030.
Initially though, the now almost certain body-on-frame Dakota will derive motivation from a petrol engine of sorts, with a diesel likely should approval be given for exports outside of North America.
In the strongest possible hint of the new Dakota being sold as a global model with both left-and-right-hand-drive, Korval told motoring.com.au at the Detroit showpiece, “these are just ideas, whiteboard-type things. Obviously, if we were to do right-hand-drive from the factory – which I can’t do today – that might change certain things of course, to state the obvious”.
He went further by saying, “if you were in my shoes and I think about… growing the brand globally … I want to be able to sell everywhere. That’s just an honest statement. I want to grow the brand like Jeep. I look at Jeep and what they’ve been able to do and I use that as my (goal)”.
Back in 2018, former Ram and Jeep division boss, Mike Manley, admitted that interest for Ram products had skyrocketed ever since the approved conversion by former Holden tuner, Walkinshaw Automotive, oft the 1500 and then later 2500 and 3500 models for the Australia market received approval.
“It’s not just Australia you know. [There’s] South Africa as well … some of the mines use right-hand drive too. It’s something we continue to look at. We’re very closely tied to those guys in those markets,” carsales.com.au quoted him as saying at the time.
As it stands, the re-commissioning of Belvidere for the Dakota, whose sales run ended in 2011 after three generations and 25 years, appears to have ended hopes of Stellantis approving its new facility in the Coega Special Economic Zone in the Eastern Cape for Ram production come 2026.
While rumoured to produce the Peugeot Landtrek in complete knockdown (CKD) form in batches of 50 000 units a year, no details about the eventual product is known, meaning a reversal in decision could still happen should the Dakota become a world model.
For now, these claims are purely speculative with nothing else also being known about when the Dakota will enter production, or if Ram will return the nameplate or opt for a different moniker come the production model.
Additional information from motor1.com.
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