Ram Dakota: Ford Ranger rival likely coming to Australia

Ram’s precocious teased Ford Ranger-sized electrical ute conception is much than apt heading to accumulation and it volition beryllium designed with planetary and right-hand thrust markets successful mind, meaning it volition much than apt marque its mode to Australia.

Speaking to the Australian media, Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr confirmed the mid-sized ute conception (which we fishy volition beryllium called the Ram Dakota) was good received by Ram dealers successful the U.S., and erstwhile it goes into production, it volition person planetary imaginable for the fast-growing American brand.

“I showed a conception to the dealers successful Las Vegas past month, which is thing that I was looking guardant to doing due to the fact that look, I had 6,000 of my closest friends successful the arena, and what a large trial case,” said Mr Koval

“So if they gave maine a thumbs up, I knew what that meant. If they threw thing astatine me, I besides knew what that meant. We got, I would say, much than a thumbs up. So present I’m gonna spell backmost to enactment and bring this to market.”

The Ram Concept is afloat electrical and reportedly adjacent to production-ready successful presumption of its plan and scope. The mid-sized electrical pickup conception is said to look akin to the wild 1500 Revolution concept that was revealed astatine this year’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES) successful January.

While the conception is axenic electric, Mr Koval didn’t regularisation retired an interior combustion mentation arsenic well, fixed the American brand’s tendency to scope a much planetary assemblage and to bash truthful successful markets wherever electrical mobility is yet to mature for utes.

“When I got to the marque successful 2016, I would accidental 95 percent of the engineering absorption was each North America,” helium said.

“That’s changing and each caller conveyance starting, you know, with this 1 (referring to the Ram 1500 REV) and everything beyond that, I volition marque planetary successful scope. Right. I volition marque it planetary oregon I’ll effort to.

“Because I don’t privation to bounds my opportunities. I deliberation I would beryllium doing myself and the squad a disservice if I didn’t see [right manus drive], I privation beryllium capable to merchantability successful each marketplace astir the world.”

Although the conveyance whitethorn beryllium engineered for right-hand drive, erstwhile the mid-sized Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux rival from Ram goes into production, it would beryllium precise apt that a right-hand driven conversion volition instrumentality spot successful a akin mode arsenic the existent Ram products successful Australia.

Mr Koval was beauteous candid successful his pessimism erstwhile asked by CarExpert if investing successful right-hand thrust mill accumulation made sense.

“To beryllium honorable with you, astir apt not, it whitethorn not beryllium [worth the investment]. I conjecture if you were successful my shoes, erstwhile I deliberation astir the marque and I deliberation astir increasing the marque globally, I privation to beryllium capable to merchantability everywhere, right? I mean, that’s conscionable an honorable statement. I privation to beryllium capable to turn the marque similar Jeep,” helium said.

For the Australian market, Walkinshaw Automotive does the right-hand thrust conversions locally successful Melbourne and caller comments by Bob Graczyk, caput of Ram Trucks International, suggest the Americans are much than blessed with the prime of the conversion.

Timing connected erstwhile the Ram Dakota volition caput to accumulation is inactive beryllium to confirmed, but we fishy it volition instrumentality spot successful mid to precocious 2025 astatine the earliest with Australia to get entree to the car aft that.

“We’ve been talking astir it everlastingly and I person committed to myself, to my squad and adjacent publically that this is the Ram enactment squad that is going to execute.”

Ram sold 6149 vehicles successful Australia successful 2022, up from 4,025 successful 2021.