RAM pick-up almost here

An import and conversion deal sanctioned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia to sell the RAM 2500 and 3500 pick-up here is merely an appetiser, says FCAA president and CEO, Pat Dougherty.

First deliveries of the big American ute will take place by the end of this year following the announcement of pricing and specifications due on November 18, as part of an arrangement between independent importer Ateco Automotive and the Walkinshaw Group.

But Dougherty said the big RAM trucks will be small fry compared to the smaller, volume-selling RAM 1500 his company still intends to import through official FCA channels.

"The first [RAM] offerings are being handled by Ateco, with Walkinshaw the converter," said Doughtery.

"It's managed by them. We work closely with [Ateco owner] Neville [Crichton] and his team, they talk to us about appointing dealers and network. And so we've a good relationship.

"[But] We just want to make sure that, long-term, we get to the volume segment.

"That [RAM 2500/3500] is not the volume segment. The volume segment is the 1500, the Toyota HiLux, the VW Amarok segment," said Dougherty.

Indeed, Ateco and Walkinshaw could eventually be cut out of the deal altogether if FCAA succeeds in convincing its parent company to develop the next-generation RAM pick-ups in right-hand drive.

"For next iteration of RAM we're positioning ourselves in a few years to make that, right from the get-go, engineered for right-hand drive," Dougherty said, indicating the new RAM 1500 could break cover by 2018.

While a range of private local converters have offered RAM trucks Down Under previously, Dougherty said the interim plan involving two outside companies to convert the RAM 2500 and 3500 is not what he would have preferred.

"If it works that way, great. Initially it was a proposal from our distributor in NZ [Ateco] to bring it to market because it thought there was an opportunity. For us to do it corporate-wise, we would have brought a whole different scenario to play in the market," Dougherty explained.