Chrysler aims to outdo GM pickups
Plans to revamp trucks before GM
DETROIT Chrysler Group LLC, whose U.S. pickup sales are growing faster than Ford Motor Co.’s and General Motors Co.’s, will gain an edge by introducing revamped pickups before GM does, an executive said.
“We’ve got a long glide path before GM is in the market, and I think that’s going to be a huge advantage for us,” Fred Diaz, president of the Ram truck brand, said Monday in Detroit. The company has started making 2013 Rams and “from every indication we’re hearing,” it doesn’t expect GM to start selling revamped fullsize trucks until “the summer of next year,” he said.
Chrysler is considering added production of its Ram pickups as the automaker readies its new 1500 light-duty truck that will achieve 21 miles per gallon (8.9 kilometres per litre) in combined city and highway driving. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker also introduces revamped heavyduty pickups early next year.
Chrysler has said its new light- duty pickups will top U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ratings of 19 mpg for Ford’s 2012 F-150 flex-fuel version and 18 mpg for GM’s similar 2012 Chevrolet Silverado.
The new trucks are crucial for chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne because the models are among Chrysler’s most profitable. The automaker’s 24-per-cent gain in U.S. sales this year is boosting profits and offsetting losses in Europe for its majority owner, Fiat SpA. Ram pickup deliveries rose 20 per cent through September, topping gains of 11 per cent by Ford’s F-series and 0.6 per cent by GM’s Chevrolet Silverado.
The 2013 Ram 1500 will be available with six- and eightcylinder engines that improve mileage from their predecessors by as much as 20 per cent, Chrysler said. The automaker is making its eight-speed transmission standard with smaller engines in the truck, which will start at $23,585 US including a $995 destination charge.
Chrysler is creating a new Ram Commercial division, within its Ram truck brand, aimed at fleet buyers and small businesses as it introduces the new heavy-duty pickups. Diaz said last month the heavy-duty pickups will have best-in-class towing capabilities, which will be detailed, with pricing, in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
Chrysler assembles the Ram 1500 at a Warren, Mich., plant that operates on two shifts. The automaker sped up the line rate at its heavy-duty truck plant in Saltillo, Mexico, in August, Mike Cairns, head of Ram truck engineering, said last month. Jodi Tinson, a company spokeswoman, declined to say how many additional trucks will be built as a result of the move.