Ram Plans Midsize Pickup for 2027Ram Plans Midsize Pickup for 2027

Stellantis plans to build a Ram midsize pickup truck at its idled assembly plant in Belvidere, IL, starting in 2027, according to a memo obtained by Crain’s Chicago Business.

The disclosure comes a week or so after Ram chief Tim Kuniskis said during an interview at the Detroit Auto Show that he would “love to have a Ram midsize pickup.” [Fixing Ram Starts At The Top]

It remains to be seen if the truck will be a full internal-combustion-engine model or a hybrid. Kuniskis told WardsAuto that the first decision he made when returning to Stellantis last month was to shelve the full-electric Ram REV and speed up the launch of the Ramcharger extended- range hybrid. Kuniskis rejoined Stellantis after ending a six-month “retirement,” agreeing to come back to lead Ram after a disappointing year in which sales for the brand fell about 20%.

The pickup-truck market is shaking up following the election of Donald Trump and falling consumer interest in battery-electric vehicles that preceded the election. Trump has issued an executive order rolling back the Biden-era targets on BEVs and zero-emission-vehicles.

While fullsize-pickup EVs have been developed by Stellantis, Ford and Chevrolet, sales have been scant after an initial surge of interest when Ford introduced the F-150 Lightning in 2021.

Ford received an overwhelming response when it opened reservations for the Lightning. Within 48 hours, it had secured 44,500 reservations with a $100 refundable deposit. By December 2021, Ford had over 200,000 reservations, prompting the company to increase its production capacity to meet the expected demand. However, Ford sold only about 75,000 Lightnings in 2022, 2023 and 2024. It was heavily discounting Lightning last year to move inventory.

Chevrolet sold a total of 7,428 Silverado EVs in 2024.

New Ford Ranger helping to drive midsize truck category

The midsize ICE- and hybrid-pickup market, on the other hand, has been a hot category for the last decade. Toyota has sold 200,000-250,000 Tacoma midsize trucks per year since 2018. Chevy delivered almost 100,000 Colorado midsize pickups in 2024, with General Motors’ GMC brand selling another 38,000 Canyon midsize pickups last year. Ford sold 63,000 Ranger midsize pickups last year. Honda and Nissan also sell midsize pickups.

Stellantis has been left out of the midsize category, though it has made noise for several years about launching one under the Dakota name, a midsized truck that Dodge sold from 1987 to 2011.

The memo stating Stellantis’s plans to build a new midsize pickup in Belvidere indicates the company expects to employ 1,500 UAW workers. Previously, the automaker built the Jeep Cherokee in Belvidere, employing as many as 5,000 workers in 2019, while there were 1,350 hourly workers at the plant when it was idled in February 2023.

Stellantis previously stated Belvidere would build BEV trucks, with a battery plant to be located nearby. Given the new state of the market, with BEV targets being lifted and federal subsidies for consumers to buy BEVs likely to end, along with Stellantis’s declining financial picture, scuttling BEV programs makes strategic and financial sense.

“Our plans, focused on increasing market share and growing sales volume, entail a multibillion-dollar investment in our people, great products and innovative technology, all here in the U.S.,” Stellantis Chairman John Elkann says in the memo to employees.