The upcoming mid-sized Ram pickup truck is now slated to be built at Stellantis‘ Toledo Assembly Complex, where the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator are made. That got us thinking—will the new, smaller Ram basically be a Gladiator with a different body? It’d certainly make sense, since the Jeep truck is already essentially a slightly shrunken Ram platform design.
Ram confirmed it’d be doing a Ford Ranger/Chevy Colorado/Nissan Frontier-sized pickup earlier this year, but it was initially going to be constructed at the automaker conglomerate’s now-idle Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. Stellantis still plans to bring that plant back online, to make more Jeep Compasses and Cherokees, but the company has now announced “an investment of nearly $400 million” earmarked for Toledo to add capacity for the truck as part of its $13 billion bet on the US market.
Here’s the relevant excerpt from Stellantis’ recent media release:
“With an investment of nearly $400 million, assembly of an all-new midsize truck, previously allocated to the Belvidere plant, plans to move to the Toledo Assembly Complex, where it will join the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator. The production shift could create more than 900 jobs. Launch timing is expected in 2028.”
“The Company also intends to continue with investments in its Toledo operations as previously announced in January. This includes additional technologies and strong product actions for both the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator, and more components critical to production at the Toledo Machining Plant.”
The Gladiator, with the right equipment, is already pretty close to Ranger and Colorado rivals on important truck specs like towing capacity (around 7,500 pounds). Ram would be wise to add, at least, a longer bed than the Jeep offers (Gladiator’s is five feet with the tailgate closed), but perhaps the most enticing concept that a Gladiator platform offers is V8 compatibility.
A Jeep Gladiator 392 V8 has already been confirmed, and we know the company plans to keep cranking out the Wrangler 392 indefinitely. If Ram is looking for an easy way to stand out, an optional Hemi V8 for a mid-sized truck would definitely get customers’ attention.
The mid-sized Ram will surely run independent front suspension rather than a solid front axle like a Jeep has, and probably be less off-road focused in other ways, too. But I’m sure there will be a decent amount of design-sharing between the trucks if they’re going to be built alongside each other.
Our friends at The Autopian had a similar thought and also pointed out that the next Wrangler/Gladiator and this new Ram are scheduled to come out at the same time. That lends even more credence to the idea that there will be platform-sharing. Could this also mean the next version of Jeep’s iconic off-roader could ditch the solid front axle (gasp!)?
Ram’s yet-unnamed mid-sized truck has also been rumored to have some kind of electrification element, too. Perhaps a 4xe hybrid Gladiator could be back on the table as part of this development as well.
Got any other good ideas for the new mid-sized Ram? Let’s talk about it: andrew.collins.@thedrive.com.
Automotive journalist since 2013, Andrew primarily coordinates features, sponsored content, and multi-departmental initiatives at The Drive.
