Ram — How a Dodge Pickup Became a Truck Brand

Ram at a glance

Origins: the Dodge Ram pickup

In October 1980 the D-series trucks and B-series vans were renamed Ram for the 1981 model year, with the ram's-head emblem already used by Dodge. The first generation stayed in production until 1993. Its turning point came in 1989, when the 5.9-litre Cummins turbo-diesel engine became available. Wikipedia links it to the first sales increase the truck had seen in several years.

The 1994 "big-rig" pickup and the Hemi

The second generation, revealed in January 1993 and sold from October that year, changed the look of American pickups. Its large grille and "big-rig" front end borrowed the look of a heavy truck. At launch the design was seen as a risk. Yet sales rose from 95,542 in 1993 to 232,092 in 1994, about 410,000 in 1995 and 411,000 in 1996, and peaked at just over 400,000 again in 1999 before declining. The 1994 Ram was Motor Trend Truck of the Year. The range now included an 8.0-litre petrol V10 with 224 kW (300 hp).

The third generation, shown at the Chicago Auto Show in February 2001, arrived for the 2002 model year. From 2003 it offered the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 with 257 kW (345 hp) and 508 Nm, and the Heavy Duty models won Motor Trend Truck of the Year for 2003. The fourth generation was introduced at the 2008 Detroit show. It replaced the leaf springs of the 1500 with a five-link coil-spring rear suspension, the first full-size pickup with rear coil springs since 1972 apart from the Chevrolet Avalanche. Optional air suspension with four ride heights followed in 2013, and a 3.0-litre EcoDiesel V6 with 179 kW (240 hp) and 569 Nm in 2014.

The Dakota and the move to a separate brand

Next to the full-size pickup, Dodge sold the mid-size Dakota from the 1987 model year. It was described as the first mid-size pickup with an optional V8, and Carroll Shelby built a V8 Shelby Dakota in 1989. US sales peaked at 177,395 in 2000.

In 2009 Chrysler went through Chapter 11. On 10 June 2009 almost all its assets passed to the new Chrysler Group LLC, in which Fiat received a 20% stake. As part of the reorganisation Ram Trucks was established in 2009 as its own Chrysler division, separate from Dodge. Fred Diaz led the division until April 2013, followed by Reid Bigland. The Dakota joined the Ram line-up from 2010, though it kept a Dodge emblem on the tailgate. The last one was built on 23 August 2011, and Sergio Marchionne said it would not be directly replaced because compact pickups were losing popularity in North America. The parent company's story is told in the history of Chrysler.

Vans, world models and Stellantis

The Fiat link brought new products. The brand had no large van after Dodge's Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based model ended in 2009, so the Fiat Ducato was adapted as the Ram ProMaster. It went on sale in North America as a 2014 model, built at Saltillo in Mexico, with a front-wheel-drive unibody and a low load floor. The smaller ProMaster City, a Fiat Doblò built in Turkey, was sold from 2014 to 2023. The electric ProMaster EV, unveiled in January 2024, has a 110 kWh battery and a 200 kW (268 hp) motor.

Outside North America the brand became a family of pickups built on Fiat and partner bases. The 700 of 2014 uses the Fiat Strada and the 1000 of 2018 the Fiat Toro, while the Rampage has been made in Goiana, Brazil, since 2023. Fiat Chrysler and PSA merged on 16 January 2021 to form Stellantis, a group of 14 brands headquartered in Hoofddorp in the Netherlands. In October 2023 Ram became part of Stellantis Pro One, the group's commercial-vehicle unit.

The fifth generation and the brand today

The fifth-generation 1500 (DT) was shown in Detroit in January 2018 and has been sold since the 2019 model year; the Heavy Duty 2500–5500 models followed. It won Motor Trend Truck of the Year for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025, the first truck to win four times in one generation. The off-road 1500 TRX was sold from 2021 to 2024 and is listed again from 2027. The earlier Ram 1500 Rebel covers the off-road version of the fourth generation. The old 1500 (DS) stayed in production as the Ram 1500 Classic until 2024.

Plans to 2030 include a plug-in hybrid 1500 REV, a Ramcharger SUV, a new Dakota mid-size pickup and North American sales of the Rampage. Tim Kuniskis returned as head of the brand in December 2024. The heavy-duty trucks come from Saltillo, the 1500 from Sterling Heights in Michigan, and Ram sells in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Angola. Rivals are covered in the best pickup trucks. All models in the catalogue are listed under Ram; the older Dodge trucks are in the Dodge catalogue. Output figures of today's trucks are compared in the most powerful pickups.

Milestones from 1980 to 2024

Models that shaped the brand

Photo gallery