Folks are clamoring for Ram to build a midsize fighter — and the automaker may soon deliver.
Right now, Stellantis does currently have a midsize truck to take on the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier and Honda Ridgeline. That would be the Jeep Gladiator, but some are asking for a more direct rival to all those trucks under the Ram umbrella. From the 1500 on up and through its commerical van line, Ram has you pretty well covered. However, it hasn’t had a midsize truck since the brand itself split off from Dodge more than a decade ago.
According to a recent report from Brazilian outlet Autos Segredos, though, the company may fill that void pretty soon. Of course, I want to stress that Ram itself has not confirmed that yet. The statement from Stellantis’ North American PR, in its entirety, is “we don’t comment on potential future product plans”. That’s par for the course when talking about most of these prospective reports.
There’s a bit more meat from the company’s South America COO, Antonio Filosa, noting the eventual arrival of the “Ram 1200” truck in that market, which our friends at CarBuzz mention in their own reporting. That truck will supposedly hit the Brazilian market next year, as a midsize offering with hybrid technology. More specifically, the truck may ride on Stellantis’ “Small Wide 4×4”, which currently underpins the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X. However, the Brazilian report says this truck will be expanded in both width and length to fit the midsize segment. Among the typical 2.0-liter Tigershark and turbodiesel options, the Ram 1200 will reportedly have hybrid systems based around 1.3- and 1.5-liter turbocharged gas engines.
Will we see this in the US? Possibly, but probably with some notable changes
On its face, it seems the Ram 1200 will resemble a midsize model closer to the Honda Ridgeline in both design and intent. Rather than a body-on-frame construction, unibody vehicles comprise the Small Wide 4×4 platform’s offerings (part of the larger “Small Common Components and Systems platform, or SCCS). Ram already does have a smaller truck in the South American market called the Ram 700 — a rebadged Fiat Strada — that some have seen as a possible competitor for the Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.
Could Ram justify another, slightly larger unibody truck to compete against the likes of Ford’s new Ranger, the upcoming Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon, the Toyota Tacoma and the redesigned Nissan Frontier? It’s hard to say, and we’ll have to wait and see if Ram eventually loosens their lips about the project and whether it’s coming to North America.
So far, there’s one other piece I haven’t mentioned. What about “Dakota”?
That’s also a major question mark, though we have spotted some possible signs over the past couple years. It’s possible Ram could use the name in this market for any truck smaller than the Ram 1500, though it’s still unclear when — or even if — that will indeed happen. Still, there’s plenty of appetite from what we’ve seen, so if you do want a baby brother to the larger Ram trucks, do speak up: They might just do it.
