FCA May Build Large SUV Based on Ram Pickup

Large body-on-frame SUVs command big profit margins for automakers, and now Fiat Chrysler wants a piece of the pie. The company may build a large SUV to compete with models like the Chevrolet Tahoe, reports the Detroit Free Press.

The platform underpinning the current Ram pickup could serve well on a large SUV, said Ram CEO Mike Manley. But we might have to wait until the next-generation Ram pickup debuts. The new pickup should head to market in early 2018.

“You have the opportunity with a new frame for the next-generation Ram,” Manley said. “You have the opportunity to take a large SUV off of it because we already have a very, very capable frame today that is going to be upgraded.”

Although it will be based on the Ram pickup, the SUV is likely destined for one of FCA’s other brands:  Jeep, Dodge, or Chrysler.

The full-size pickup market is undoubtedly lucrative, but FCA is missing out on potentially huge profits by not offering a large SUV similar to the ones from Ford and GM. Analysts estimate that GM makes at least $10,000 for each large SUV it sells. Last year, GM sold a total of more than 200,000 copies of its Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, and GMC Yukon models.

Ram might also see the return of a midsize pickup offering in the near future. “We’re looking into it,” Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said earlier this year about a midsize Ram truck. It’s yet to be determined whether it would adopt a body-on-frame setup.

Meanwhile, FCA is plotting a large SUV for Jeep under the Wagoneer label. The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will both use the same architecture as the next-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Source: Detroit Free Press

2016 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman Crew Cab 4x4 EcoDiesel front three quarter 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited Crew Cab front grille 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited Crew Cab rear three quarter 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited Crew Cab front three quarter 02 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited Crew Cab front end in motion 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited Crew Cab rear end in motion 2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 4x4 EcoDiesel front three quarter in motion 1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer front three quarter

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