The Dakota was canned almost a decade ago.
Stellantis has announced that a midsize pickup is coming for certain markets.
It’s unlikely that it will come to North America.
FCA/Stellantis has been on and off about bringing a midsize pickup back to the Ram brand. Back in 2018, they announced that one such pickup was on the way, nothing’s come from it since. To be fair, the current Ram 1500 Classic and 1500 duo is paying off huge for the automaker in North America. Elsewhere in the world, however, a new smaller pickup is coming.
Many global markets are privy to a number of FCA/Stellantis small pickups. To name a few, there are the Ram 700 (Fiat Strada) in Mexico and Latin America, the Ram 1000 (Fiat Toro) also in Latin America and the Ram 1200 (Mitsubishi Triton/Fiat Fullback) in the Middle East. According to Mopar Insiders, the growing demand for these vehicles has spawned another model.
Codenamed “Project 291”, this new truly midsized pickup will be based on the Small Wide 4×4 platform that currently underpins the Jeep Compass and Renegade, and other such vehicles. It will be larger than the abovementioned pickups. The source reports that the powertrain will likely be a turbo-diesel that will power the front or all four wheels.
As the small/midsize pickup continues to heat up with the arrival of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, Ford Maverick, alongside the Ranger and Honda Ridgeline, there’s certainly room for a Ram-branded alternative. This probably won’t be it.
