Full-size American pickup truck brand R.A.M. has officially confirmed that it will unveil its long-awaited global midsize pickup truck – what could be called Dakotacan borrow design cues from the Ram Rampage dual-cab model sold in South American markets and will compete with the best-selling Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux in Australia – but not until 2028.
Antonio Filosa, the CEO of Stellantis – which owns the Ram, Jeep, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, among others – said in September the Dakota would launch in 2027, and senior Ram executives previously said the all-new dual-cab vehicle would be sold in Australia “one way or another”.
The announcement came overnight as part of the largest single investment in the 100-year history of Ram parent company Stellantis, which includes a nearly $400 million (A$611 million) spend to produce an “all-new midsize truck” alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator at the Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio – rather than the Belvidere plant, Illinois, which will instead reopen to produce two new Jeep models.
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To counter import tariffs imposed by the US government in April 2025, which led to it halting imports to North America earlier this year, Stellantis announced it would invest US$13 billion (AU$19.96 billion) in US manufacturing.
Stellantis said it will expand its U.S. production by 50 percent and introduce five new models and 19 “product promotions” over the next four years.
It says a new-generation Dodge Durango will be built in Detroit, an all-new extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) and a large combustion engine SUV will be built in Warren, Michigan – creating more than 5,000 new jobs at factories in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.
“This investment in the U.S. – the largest single investment in the company’s history – will fuel our growth, strengthen our manufacturing footprint and bring more American jobs to the states we call home,” Mr. Filosa said in a statement.
“As we begin our next 100 years, we are putting the customer at the heart of our strategy, expanding our vehicle offering and giving them the freedom to choose the products they want and love.
“Accelerating growth in the U.S. has been a top priority since my first day. Success in America isn’t just good for Stellantis in the U.S. – it makes us stronger everywhere,” he said.
The new midsize ute will potentially revive the Dakota nameplate previously offered by both Dodge and Ram, and be Ram’s first direct competitor to some of the world’s (and Australia’s) most popular crew cabs, positioned below the Ram 1500 pickup.
It’s expected to feature a traditional ladder-frame chassis like its rivals, and the fact that it will now be manufactured in the same factory as the Wrangler and Gladiator suggests it will share its underpinnings with those hardcore off-roaders.
The Dodge Dakota, which was never officially sold here, was last produced in 2011 and was slightly larger than the US-market Ranger, with a wheelbase of 3355 mm and an overall length of 5558 mm.
The dual-cab Ranger has a wheelbase of 3,270 mm, with the highest-volume XLT variant measuring 5,370 mm long. This makes it shorter than the Ram 1500 crew cab, which has a wheelbase of 3672 mm and measures 5916 mm in its shortest form.
The last Dakota was available with V6 and V8 gasoline engines, but there is no information about what will power the new Ram midsize car.
In the US, the Wrangler and Gladiator are offered with turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder and naturally aspirated V6 petrol engines (and a plug-in hybrid powertrain for the former), but without diesel engines like most vehicles sold in Australia.
However, Stellantis offers a range of hybrid and electric powertrains in the US, where its famous Hemi V8 has returned to the Ram pickup lineup.
Rams are no longer available in the Australian market with a V8, following the launch of the facelifted MY25 Ram 1500 with the more powerful Hurricane twin-turbocharged inline-six engine earlier this year. There is no confirmation as to whether the V8 will return to Australian showrooms.
As part of the announcement, Stellantis also confirmed that it will produce a new four-cylinder internal combustion engine (ICE) in Michigan.
The investment announcement comes after Stellantis suffered significant declines in sales and profits, including a loss of US$2.7 billion (AUD4.15 billion) in the first half of 2025.
Mr. Filosa took the top job at Stellantis in June after Carlos Tavares stepped down from the position in December 2024 ahead of his planned retirement in 2026.
“This is now a ’27 product,” Mr. Filosa said at the Kepler Cheuvreux fall conference last month when asked when Ram would unveil its long-promised global midsize “metric-ton” pickup.
“Two weeks ago I was in our design center in Detroit and saw the car myself – not just the sketches and design, but also the clay model – and it’s just beautiful.
“And all the specifications we envision in the product briefing are very good in this segment, so we will have a very strong Ram offering in this segment in 2027.”
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