Fiat vans for Ram coming
Autoblog recently discovered that Fiat will, as shown in the 2009 Five Year Plan, soon be bringing new vans for Ram to sell. Our early-2010 analysis by Patrick McNamara (updated in 2011) suggested that two vans would be brought over, the Doblo and Ducato, though it’s possible they could also import the Daily — either as a Ram or as an Iveco.
Recently, insiders have said that a Ram version of the Ducato is definitely coming for the 2014 model year at the latest. The Five Year Plan called for a new van, engineered for the United States but based on the Fiat/Iveco version (depending on whether it was Daily or Ducato), and there is no reason to think this is not still the case. While the engineers are busily adapting or re-creating, much as they did the Omni/Horizon (the Dodge/Plymouth was very different from the SIMCA), plans for manufacturing are presumably proceeding, since imported trucks are severely punished through high tariffs.
The tariff issue is presumably also why the Doblo (rendered above as “L’il Ram Express Truck“), which is to be made to conform to American laws and regulations but otherwise unchanged, has also been taking a long time to appear (though Fiat likely also wanted to wait for the new generation before spending resources on federalization).
Fiat and Chrysler will have two manufacturing choices: building kits in their European or Brazilian plants for assembly in the United States, or building the trucks in the United States using local or imported components. So far there has been no indication of which it will be for either vehicle, though it seems likely that Doblo kits will be imported while Ducatos will be made in North America (which includes Mexico) due to the greater level of localization.
While Doblo would compete directly against Ford’s Transit (which is why Fiat’s Turkish plant does not want to build them for the U.S.), providing the only option for buyers in that range, Ducato would not have any direct competitors in the United States; it would however be an option for those who want something to replace a traditional commercial van, providing higher gas mileage and possibly a more convenient shape (depending on buyer needs), without the expense of the Mercedes Sprinter. If the extremely versatile Daily were also to be launched, which is possible though unlikely, it could displace the expensive Sprinter — which reportedly many buyers are unhappy with due to maintenance issues — though costs could be similar or only mildly lower. The Daily could see use both as a large passenger and cargo van and as the basis for campers, ambulances, and other custom-built vehicles. Volumes would likely be low, which would keep costs per unit high — as they are with Sprinter. Daily would probably be assembled from knockdown kits, as Sprinter is, due to the low volumes.
