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New Delhi: For the longest time, there have been talks about a new mid-size truck with UAW Vice President promising a couple of years ago that the Belvidere, Illinois factory would reopen for the same. Ever since Dakota was taken off the market in 2011, there has been a gap in the segment.
Now, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa has come up with further details about the rival to the Ford Ranger, confirming that it is scheduled for a launch in 2027. During the Kepler Cheuvreux Autumn Conference, Filosa noted that he had paid a visit to the Detroit design centre a couple of weeks ago to see a full-size clay model of the pickup, and believes that the truck will have amazing technical specifications.
The new truck is likely to come with a body-on-frame platform, which can operate with ICE, plug-in hybrids and fully electric drivetrains. It will not be coming on the STLA Large architecture, designed just for unibody vehicles. Rather, Stellantis might shorten the STLA Frame, the platform which is developed for the Ram 1500 Ramcharger and the scrapped electric 1500.
The electric 1500 was made to compete with the likes of the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Chevrolet Silverado EV. However, the brand recently confirmed that they were axing the project due to the slowing demand for full-size EV pickups.
In standard format, the STLA Frame supports vehicles that are between 216-234 inches and 81.2-83.6 inches in width, with the wheelbase measuring between 123.7-145.3 inches. Electric versions are going to have a range of 805 km on a single charge and around 1110 km with a range-extending ICE.
The platform has a maximum towing capacity of 6350 kgs and a payload of 1224 kgs. Of course, these are for the full-size models, and Rams’s smaller truck is unlikely to match these capacities.
The name Dakota, though, has already been given to a different outfit from the brand and will be launching in South America next year, and there are no clues whether the smaller truck will be called the same. Ram is likely to choose a different badge for the US models, of course, which is going to be a much bigger and different product.
