The start of this year has seen some improvements in vehicle production; however, that seems to have changed within the recent month, and things have slowed down for manufacturers. Ram CEO Mike Koval recently had an interview with Tim Esterdahl, founder of Pickup Truck Plus SUV Talk on YouTube. He talked about current production and having access to the “entire portfolio” of Stellantis “on a global basis,” which includes vans and smaller trucks. To which, there are expected to be no less than three small Ram trucks (Ram 700, Ram 1000, and Ram 1200) sold in various markets by next year.
Koval Sees A Bright Future, Opportunities For Ram Brand
Starting with current production, Koval has stated that the Ram 1500 Classic will remain in production. Vehicle productivity was going relatively smoothly towards the end of 2021 and into the start of 2022. However, within the last month, the productivity threw it in reverse, and things started to experience issues once again.
That’s not exclusive to Stellantis, parent company of Ram Trucks. Everyone has been experiencing some problems with the supply chain as we have been reporting on. Koval hopes that by the second half of the year, things will settle back again, and by 2023 some semblance of stability will hopefully be found.
Ram 1000. Image via Stellantis.
Speaking on the recent news regarding the Ram 1200 release in Brazil, Koval stated that he was in Brazil a few weeks ago and saw how interested people are in the Ram Brand. As the market is highly competitive, it’s his job to keep up with everything going on in the market and where the company should be expanding. “It would be disingenuous for me not to explore every opportunity,” Koval stated during the interview, and the midsize truck market is undoubtedly a great opportunity. Throughout the interview, Koval has given multiple hints that a smaller truck is coming.
In addition to the talk regarding the midsize truck, Koval transitioned the conversation into the electrification and Ram Revolution. A midsize electric Ram truck was previously teased during Stellantis EV Day last summer, likely riding on the STLA Large platform, while a larger Ram Revolution EV would utilize the larger STLA Frame platform. The could be foreshadowing, in that whatever midsize Ram truck we get, it’ll likely have a charge port.
