2027 Ram 1200 confirmed (again)

The long-awaited Ram 1200 has finally been given the greenlight and will be produced at the returning Belvidere plant in Illinois, restoring some 1500 jobs in the process.

While not mentioned explicitly by name, the American-born Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux rival was confirmed in a memo – obtained by Automotive News – distributed this week by the United Auto Workers Union (UAWU) to its members celebrating and confirming the revival of the Belvidere plant that was idled in 2023.

“A new mid-size pickup truck will be produced in Belvidere,” the passage in question reads.

The revelation comes barely a week after Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said he “desperately” wanted a Ranger and Hilux rival, among other sub-1500 pick-up trucks, for both the US and international markets.

“I need a mid-size truck for sure,” he recently told Road & Track.

The notion of a Ranger-fighting Ram has been a hot topic for years now and comes off the back of the South American Rampage’s (pictured) release in mid-2023, though odds are this new mid-sizer will have very little to do with the monocoque recreation ute.

Details are next to non-existent at the moment, but the expectation is for the sub-1500 workhorse – tipped to be called the 1200 or Dakota – to ride on a ladder-frame chassis, likely the all-new STLA Frame Stellantis debuted in November.

The new architecture is said to be compatible with every major and emerging powertrain technology, including internal combustion, hybrid, hydrogen, battery-electric and range-extender hybrids, meaning it’s anyone’s guess as to what will power the mid-sizer.

Production of the new model is set to start in 2027 according to the UAWU, meaning we likely won’t see it on Aussie soil until at least 2028 or even 2030 depending on Ram’s production plans – i.e. left- and right-hook or just left-, the latter of which would mean an expansion of Walkinshaw’s already loaded remanufacturing program.

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