Ram Australia delivers its 30,000th pick-up

Ram (styled RAM) has delivered its 30,000th full-size pick-up in Australia – a Ram1500 Big Horn, according to local importer Ateco.

The milestone Ram was a Billet Silver Crew Cab completed at the company’s Melbourne site, where the US-made pick-ups have been converted from left-hand to right-hand drive since 2016.

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Ateco is the only company authorised by Ram – part of the Stellantis conglomerate of automotive brands – to re-manufacture its vehicles to right-hand drive.

“30,000 vehicles is a significant carpark in anyone’s books – that it’s come about in a segment that didn’t exist a few years ago is testament to the hard work of everyone involved,” said Jeff Barber, General Manager of Ram Trucks Australia, in an Ateco statement.

In late 2022, Ram upgraded its Melbourne Manufacturing Facility (MMF) to double production capacity to 20,000 vehicles a year – around 54 a day – with two assembly lines and more than 400 employees.

“From our partners in the US and Melbourne, to our dedicated dealer network in Australia and New Zealand, the RAM Trucks business proves that it’s possible to establish an OEM-level automotive manufacturing capability in Australia despite the closure of local automotive brands.

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Ram sold 6833 pick-ups in Australia in 2023, led by the Ram 1500, easily outselling the Chevrolet Silverado which sold a total of 3365 locally.

While facing the Chevrolet Silverado – which is converted to right-hand drive in Melbourne by Walkinshaw Performance – Ram has also faced increased competition from the Ford F-150.

The F-150 arrived in local showrooms last October with Ford Australia tipping around 5000 annual sales, with capacity for around 20 conversions to right-hand drive carried out by RMA Automotive in Melbourne.

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The hybird-powered Toyota Tundra is also on the way to Australia after an evaluation batch of 300 were converted by Walkinshaw Performance.

Production of the current model Ram 1500 wound up at the end of 2023 – including the flagship 1500 TRX powered by a supercharged 6.2L V8 – with its V6-powered ‘RHO’ successor announced in April 2024.

The Ram 1500 RHO will use a 3.0L twin-turbo inline six with V8 models are dropped from the Ram line-up as part of a facelift due in US showrooms mid-year.

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Ateco has imported a batch of 130 Ram 1500 TRX Final Editions which will farewell the V8 from the Australian line-up.