Specifically, Kuniskis refers to the introduction of a new passenger van. Although the decline of the minivan market has been experienced lately, Kuniskis has nonetheless highlighted the potential of this segment, taking inspiration from the great success achieved in the past with the Dodge Grand Caravan. This model, certainly popular and a sales leader for Dodge, left a very visual void in the market after it was discontinued in 2020.
Ram wants to bring a passenger vehicle back to the market
Ram‘s goal of bringing a passenger van back into its lineup looks perfectly consistent with the brand’s strategy of strengthening its presence in several segments. At the same time, Ram is also working to re-enter the small commercial van market in the United States, a segment that has been left uncovered following the suspension of production of the Ram ProMaster City. According to some latest reports, it appears that Ram may fill this gap by offering the market a rebadged version of the Fiat E-Scudo, which could debut on the market in late 2025 as the Ram ProMaster City 2026.
The Fiat E-Scudo, which as we know is currently marketed in Europe, is an electric light commercial vehicle, which is produced on Stellantis’ EMP2 platform. This van, comes highly regarded for its efficiency and flexibility, offers two battery options: a 50 kWh and a 75 kWh. The latter is intended to equip as standard equipment the model to be introduced in North America under the Ram brand. With a 100 kW electric motor and 260 Nm of torque, the E-Scudo is a decidedly ideal vehicle for city deliveries and is responsible for providing a payload capacity of up to one ton. Fast charging up to 100 kW also gives the possibility of recovering a considerable percentage of range in a relatively short time.
Ram is focusing on vans
The Ram brand, facing a significant sales decline in 2023 of 19 percent, is revising its strategy with a special focus on vans. This decision seems to be a direct response to the need to try to set a different trend to the negative trend and revive overall sales.
Although there has been an overall decline, Ram’s commercial segment remains solid and accounts for a fairly large slice of Stellantis’ total commercial vehicle sales in North America. This positive performance of the commercial segment remains in line with earlier statements by Ram’s former CEO Christine Feuell, who had confirmed that she had ambitions to gain a leading position in the commercial vehicle market and achieve double-digit growth.
This Ram strategy is thus being placed in a larger context, where Stellantis is aiming to challenge Ford’s leadership in the commercial vehicle market. The achievements of Ford Pro, Ford’s commercial division, demonstrate the potential of this segment and also how aggressive the competition is. Ram, with its renewed focus on vans, probably has every intention of trying to enter into direct competition with Ford in order to succeed in its bid to capture a larger share of the market.