Will an FCA Executive Return From Brazil With a New Ram?

by Steph Willems

Published: March 26th, 2016

will an fca executive return from brazil with a new ram

A top Ram executive is heading to Brazil next week as the truck maker increasingly cozies up to the idea of adding a smaller pickup to its lineup.

The trip comes after Mike Manley, global head of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Jeep and Ram brands, told The Detroit News that an “opportunity” exists in the U.S. midsize pickup market.

“I think that space is big enough, certainly, to have two offerings there,” Manley said at last week’s New York Auto Show, referring to the recently-announced Wrangler pickup and a hypothetical Ram model.

The midsize market, dominated by the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins and Toyota Tacoma, has shown considerable growth and has the potential to benefit an automaker willing to add a third entry.

Manley didn’t confirm a new Ram, but the trip to Brazil by Ram International head Bob Hegbloom clearly signals the beginning of a product strategy. Hegbloom will be looking at partnership opportunities between Ram and the company’s Latin American Fiat division, Manley said.

Without its own midsize architecture, and with little capacity to develop and produce such a vehicle in the U.S. (where focus remains on the strong-selling Ram 1500 and 2500 models), tapping Fiat could be the only way forward.

In the Brazilian market, Fiat has just rolled out its new Toro pickup, while FCA’s Mexico factory produces the Fiat Fullback pickup (based on the Mitsubishi L200).

The Toro is a unibody four-door pickup based on the Fiat Small-Wide platform that underpins the Jeep Renegade. Power comes from a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine or 2.0-liter diesel four, mated to a six-speed manual or six- or nine-speed automatic transmission.

When Hegbloom was head of Ram’s North American division (a post now occupied by former Jeep head Jim Morrison), he bemoaned the fact that the company couldn’t attain the fuel economy ratings needed to market a smaller pickup alongside the larger Ram.

That was then, but now the winds of change seem to be blowing…from south of the border.

[Image: Fiat Toro, FCA Group]

#Brazil #Fca #Fiat #FiatChryslerAutomobiles #FiatToro #FutureVehicles #LatinAmerica #Platforms #Ram

Steph Willems

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6 of 144 comments

Art Vandelay on Mar 28, 2016

The Explorer Sport Track was universally lambasted for having a useless bed. How is this any different in that respect?

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- Vulpine on Mar 29, 2016
  
  Why don't you go look at a Hyundai or RAM 700 and see for yourself. The Sport Track and Subaru Baja attempted to compete with the big Chevy Avalanche and missed on the factors that made the Avalanche work--an extendible bed. Hyundai has already demonstrated that the Santa Cruz offers an extendible bed, though we don't necessarily know the capabilities of the new Fiat/Ram models.
  
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- Npaladin2000 on Mar 29, 2016
  
  @Vulpine Actually, what made the Avalanche "work" was that it was a big honkin full-size effing BOF truck. In fact, it was pretty much as big as a Silverado HD wasn't it? Not as HD as the HD, but it was that big. Quite a few ended up as commercial vehicles, something that's not going to happen as widely with something like a Baja or a mini-RAM.
  
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- Vulpine on Mar 29, 2016
  
  @npaladin2000 The Avalanche itself eventually died, npaladin, but due more to the fact that almost all trucks had become crew-cab-centric by the end of that time and made the external portion of the bed longer, removing the need for the inside extension; simpler and cheaper, really. The smaller rigs didn't even offer much, if anything, in the way of the extendible bed. As for the Honda Ridgeline, despite all the complaints from "truck people" they were remarkably popular with "car people" who simply didn't want the size or the touted capabilities of full-sized pickups. Something like that "mini-RAM above is likely to be far more popular than you think. Though not by "truck people."
  
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HCM on Jun 27, 2016

", while FCA’s Mexico factory produces the Fiat Fullback pickup (based on the Mitsubishi L200)." I'm pretty sure FCA does not build the Fullback in Mexico. It's built by Mitsubishi in Thailand.

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- RobertRyan on Jun 28, 2016
  
  It is a rebadged version of the Mitsubushi L200 or Triton as it is known. Built in Thailand
  
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