RAM News

After years of on-again, off-again teasing, evasion and false-starts, recently-installed Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa has confirmed a Ram Dakota ‘mid-size’ pick-up for North American production in 2027.

It’s official - Ram has pulled the plug on its fully electric pick-up before it even made it to showrooms.

Ram is preparing to return to the midsized ute market globally, to take on the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, BYD Shark 6, Isuzu D-Max and more, with Australia looming front-and-centre. Expected to resuscitate the long-dormant Dakota badge when it debuts possibly as early as next year, the one-tonne pick-up range will slip underneath the full-sized DT-series 1500 Hurricane dual-cab series in both size and price.

Ram is considering a V8 comeback for Australia’s best-selling full-sized American ute, which might include the return of the TRX high-performance flagship.

To borrow a line from Mark Twain, reports of the death of the V8 engine are greatly exaggerated.

Will the Ram 1500 Big Horn turn into the 1500 Warlock instead as the big US truck value opener? With the introduction of the DT Series II “Hurricane” facelift earlier in 2025, the old Big Horn from $119,950 has not yet been replaced, leaving the Laramie Sport as well as newly-released Rebel that both commence at $141,950 as the 1500 range entry points. But with comparatively slow sales of the superseded version (despite being the last of the Hemi V8s – for now), it appears that a completely different grade is in the pipeline, to slip in between. Yet to be confirmed for Australia, the expected new Warlock grade would be a comparatively affordable and more youth-orientated take on the ‘cheapest’ Ram 1500.

Stellantis, parent company of Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Leapmotor, has reportedly put its ‘AutoDrive’ self-driving software on hold over concerns there is no demand for it among buyers.

Ram predicts its latest big ute will be a best-seller in its range.

Ram has been teasing a new mid-size pick-up for years now and it’s still yet to come to fruition.Speculatively called the Dakota, which revives a name previously used by the US pick-up company, this mid-size pick-up (what we would call a ute) was initially teased in 2021 with the unibody STLA Large platform set to underpin it.However, Mopar Insiders now reports the Ram Dakota will be based on a body-on-frame platform.This makes it a more direct rival to the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, among other North American mid-size pickups like the Chevrolet Colorado, Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier.It’s unclear what type of body-on-frame platform the Dakota will receive. It could have a shrunken version of the body-on-frame architecture that underpins the larger Ram 1500, or perhaps a version of the Jeep Gladiator’s body-on-frame platform.Another option is the STLA Frame architecture which will underpin the Ram 1500 Ramcharger range-extender (REEV) and 1500 REV electric pick-up will be scaled down for the mid-sized Dakota.Mopar Insiders indicates production of the new Ram Dakota will begin in 2027 at the company’s production plant in Belvidere, Illinois. It’ll only be made as a dual-cab.As previously reported, a Ram spokesperson told US outlet Hagerty that the Dakota will “take full advantage” of the company’s “multi-energy strategy”. This means it’ll likely offer internal-combustion (ICE), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric (BEV) powertrain options.At this stage the company hasn’t publicly disclosed any technical information, but Ram no longer offers diesel powertrains, which likely rules this out for the Dakota.Also, the potential of a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain could see it go up against the BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV and Ford Ranger PHEV.We’re yet to see what this Ram mid-size pick-up will actually look like. It’s expected spied prototypes will be on the road soon, but in the meantime digital renders give us an indication of what to expect.The Dakota will likely only be produced in left-hand drive from the factory, though it could be remanufactured to right-hand drive for the Australian market through its partnership with Walkinshaw.“A mid-size ute is on our wish list for Ram in Australia,” said Ram Trucks Australia General Manager Jeff Barber earlier this year.“We think it would be a great fit for Australia.”

Ryan Walkinshaw himself explains how one of the brand's most controversial HSV models was the springboard for local re-manufacturing.