[MoparNorm]

Do we have pricing numbers for the competition?
It's a bit more expensive than I anticipated. That's going to force the Daily prices over $40,000.
It's over 20% higher in cost than the rapidly growing Nissan NV.
I'm a bit surprised. Very surprised in fact.
If you have a fleet of say 10, vehicles and the Ducato is $7-8,000 more per vehicle, I'm not sure you can sell an unproven* truck at a $80,000 premium.
Is this another Fiat 500 moment?
I would hope they revisit that price structure, entry level NV is smaller, but in the Mid $20,000.




* in the US

 

[bumonbox]

So, pricing about on par with Ford E series, a bit higher than the Chevy express. But then again, it doesn't necessarily compete with those directly anymore. Will be curious to see the Transit pricing, I suspect it will end up being higher.

Of course, they are still missing a people hauler. They frequently use these full sized vans for as a "mini bus" for things like hotel transportation and what not.

 

[fenderbass]

it falls into the lineup pretty well. Ram 3500 chassis cab starts at $30,000 according to the Ram site. The Promaster 3500 chassis cab starts at a little over $27,000.

 

[MoparNorm]

it falls into the lineup pretty well. Ram 3500 chassis cab starts at $30,000 according to the Ram site. The Promaster 3500 chassis cab starts at a little over $27,000.

It's $38,000+ in the hi profile model, nearly $8,000 more than NV, if the Transit slides in under it, it's going to priced way too high for fleet sales.
I suspect it's the cost to import it, but that price structure will make the Daily, unaffordable, and that is too bad. The Ducatto is not as affordable as I hoped.

 

[RVC]

Isn't the NV closer to the Fiat Doblò in size than the ProMaster? The accurate comparison should be made with the MB van that Dodge rebadged during the DCX days.

 

[66coronet]

FWD 3500 CHASSIS cab could = FWD 3500 pickup / flat bed / utility box / dump truck or what ever your imagination.

Now if only the after market would come up with new fenders, hood, headlights grill.

 

[66coronet]

This one uses a 2.3L diesel.

If it has to be FWD, I wished it to have the PT Cruiser nose.

 

[66coronet]

This one has a 2.2L multi jet deisel.

Cool transporter. I wanted something like this with the PT pickup. For lawn mowers, row boats, motorcycles ect... All this uses is a 2.3L diesel.

 

[66coronet]

For those who think FWD can not haul. Check this out.

I like the fold down rear ramp. Plus look how low it is. Looks like a nice hauler.

 

[66coronet]

This one uses the 3.0L I-4 diesel
I've never seen something this big being FWD.

 

[66coronet]

natural gas-powered

I can picture this with a dodge caravan nose. This uses only a 2.3L diesel.

 

[66coronet]

This looks interesting.

 

[bumonbox]

It's $38,000+ in the hi profile model, nearly $8,000 more than NV, if the Transit slides in under it, it's going to priced way too high for fleet sales.
I suspect it's the cost to import it, but that price structure will make the Daily, unaffordable, and that is too bad. The Ducatto is not as affordable as I hoped.

I was initially gonna argue, but yeah, the NV may not start much lower, but it's pricing remains pretty flat. What's odd to me is the NV is much more like the traditional american taste in full sized vans, where as the Chrysler and Ford are going euro (Chrysler obviously doesn't already have something in it's stable so that makes sense)

It seems like the NV is going to inflict a lot of damage to the market (I wonder if Nissan is selling them at a loss to get people in the door). The ProMaster may have a hard time cracking it, but we'll see. There may be other factors at play though.

 

[Stratuscaster]

In the US in 2012, Nissan sold 10179 NV vans, up from 6444 in 2011. YTD 2013, they've sold 1995.

For reference, between 2004 and 2008, the Dodge Sprinter sold on average 16592 units per year.

Much like Dodge had to do with Sprinter, Nissan had to build up it's dealer and distribution network for the NV. It's not as well known in the commercial van arena either, so it's had an uphill battle to start with.

 

[MoparNorm]

I was initially gonna argue, but yeah, the NV may not start much lower, but it's pricing remains pretty flat. What's odd to me is the NV is much more like the traditional american taste in full sized vans, where as the Chrysler and Ford are going euro (Chrysler obviously doesn't already have something in it's stable so that makes sense)

It seems like the NV is going to inflict a lot of damage to the market (I wonder if Nissan is selling them at a loss to get people in the door). The ProMaster may have a hard time cracking it, but we'll see. There may be other factors at play though.

I've tried to look at NV and Transit, objectively. Behind the drivers seat, you basically have a shell, no finishes, so the cost of a stamped shell, has to be less than say a finished Caravan, or MegaCab.
Yes it's bigger, but in the world of stamping plain sheet metal parts, where metal is purchased by the pound, it cannot be that expensive to stamp out a 20" larger panel.
Sprinter starts at $36,300 and I think they simply targeted that, wirhouout regard for NV, or Transit.
Sprinter isn't a volume seller in the US, it took it a while to gain a foothold. Ducato now has to overcome both price and looks.

To be successful in the US commercial van business, you have to appeal to businesses, in order to get product on the road and have buyers "notice" you. I just think, in today's economy, Ducato starts too high to gain traction. Drop the base model by $2,000 and you'd see small, companies take a look. The expense of importing these may keep the cost higher than the market can bear.
The cost for an RV conversion could "hide" some of that price difference, but it's going to be hard to get a toehold in that market with FWD.

 

[TWX]

In my opinion that's too much money. The white fleet at my work is mostly Ford Econolines, Chevy G-series vans, Chevy Express/GMC Savannah, and Dodge B-series.

My work never bought Sprinters and hasn't bought any Transit Connects. It looks like Ford either has discontinued the Econoline Van (as opposed to windowed wagon) or is about to, but GM has kept the Savannah/Express around. My guess is that they'll just continue to buy the GMs and won't even consider this new van if it's more expensive than the GM.

In honesty, they need to take the Walmart approach. Come in undercutting the competition until they've established market share, then consider letting prices come up to what they legitimately should be. Until they've established a market presence and established a reputation it's hard for a customer to justify the added expense of something new in the existing fleet when something like what's already owned is still available and is less costly.

 

[MoparNorm]

This looks interesting.

It looks expensive and a replacement nightmare.
These are WORK trucks, driven by multiple drivers, something expensive and different is going to make commercial buyers think twice.

 

[Bran]

It's $38,000+ in the hi profile model, nearly $8,000 more than NV, if the Transit slides in under it, it's going to priced way too high for fleet sales.

I think that it's better to compare NV3500 High Roof to Promaster 1500, 136" WB, High Roof. Promaster is $1,000 cheaper, 1,300 pounds lighter, has more payload capacity, more cargo volume, and there is no doubt that Pentastar will be more fuel efficient than Nissan's V8.

I was initially gonna argue, but yeah, the NV may not start much lower, but it's pricing remains pretty flat.

That's because its capability remains flat.

....................................NV1500........NV2500.....NV3500 V8...Ram 1500....Ram 1500....Ram 1500...Ram 2500....Ram 3500 Ext
Wheelbase.........................146..............146.................146.............118..............136...............136.............159...................159
Height..................................84..............105.................106................90................90..............101..............101...................101
Length............................240.6...........240.6..............240.6..............195..............213..............213..............236...................250
Roof..................................Low.............High................High..............Low.............Low..............High.............High..................High
Price...........................$26,415.......$29,965..........$32,565.......$29,625......$30,515........$31,515........$33,870............$37,145

PAYLOAD - LBS.............2,590............2,921............3,637............3,922..........3,852............3,794............3,998..............4,280
Curb Weight...................5,791............5,973............6,050............4,628..........4,698............4,756............4,902..............5,070
GVWR............................8,550............9,100............9,900............8,550..........8,550.............8,550...........8,900..............9,350
Cargo
Cargo volume (cu. ft.)......234................323...............323...............283.............353................406..............459.................530
Maximum length...............120................120...............120...............105.............123................123..............146.................160
Maximum height..............55.8...............76.9..............76.9.................65...............65.................76.................76...................76
Width at Wheel Well........54.3...............54.3..............54.3................56...............56.................56.................56...................56
Width at Side Panel........70.2...............70.2..............70.2..............73.4.............73.4..............73.4..............73.4...............73.4


......................................Ram 1500....Sprinter 2500...Ram 1500....Srinter 2500......Ram 2500....Srinter 2500
Wheelbase..............................136...................144..............136..................144................159.................170
Height........................................90..................96.3..............101...............107.5................101..............107.5
Length.....................................213................232.5..............213...............232.5................236..............273.2
Roof.......................................Low....................Low.............High................High................High................High
Price................................$30,515.............$37,285.......$31,515..........$39,665..........$33,870...........$42,815

PAYLOAD - LBS.................3,852..................3,426...........3,794..............3,362.............3,998...............3,000
Curb Weight.......................4,698..................5,124...........4,756..............5,188.............4,902...............5,545
GVWR................................8,550..................8,550...........8,550..............8,550.............8,900...............8,550
Cargo
Cargo volume (cu. ft.)...........353.....................318..............406.................371................459.................494
Maximum length....................123.....................128..............123.................128................146..............169.3
Maximum height......................65.......................65................76...................78..................76...................78
Width at Wheel Well...............56.....................53.1................56................53.1.................56.................53.1
Width at Side Panel.............73.4....................70.1.............73.4................70.1...............73.4.................70.1

 

[68RT]

Ever seen a GMC Motorhome? They were front wheel drive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MaHReDKVIY

This one uses the 3.0L I-4 diesel
I've never seen something this big being FWD.