Ram Trucks

WorldBrand briefing

AI supplement

Original synthesis to sit alongside the encyclopedia article below. Not part of Wikipedia; verify facts on Wikipedia when precision matters.

Ram Trucks is a US-based light/medium-duty commercial vehicle brand under Stellantis Group, specializing in full-size pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. It was spun off from Dodge's Ram truck line and established as an independent brand in 2010.

Key moments

1981First released as the Dodge Ram pickup series under Dodge brand
1994Second-generation Ram pickup launched, established market position with muscular design and load grading system
2010Officially separated from Dodge to become an independent brand under Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
2021Became a subsidiary of Stellantis Group after the merger of FCA and PSA
2018-presentLaunched 5th generation Ram pickup series

Ram Trucks mainly competes with other full-size pickup brands in North America:

Direct competitor to Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra: these are the top-selling full-size pickups in North America, Ram ranks third in sales volume
Highlights of competitive advantages: luxurious interior design matching premium SUVs, excellent towing and payload capabilities, industry-leading off-road models like Ram 1500 TRX
Product layout covers light-duty 1500, heavy-duty 2500/3500 and chassis cab models, covering both consumer and commercial scenarios

Ram Trucks is a standalone full-size pickup truck brand with deep automotive heritage rooted in Dodge's historic truck lineup, operating under the global Stellantis automotive group since its 2010 spin-off. The brand has carved out a strong competitive position in the North American light and medium-duty commercial vehicle market, focusing on a value proposition centered on rugged capability, premium cabin comfort, and class-leading towing performance. This positioning has allowed it to capture consistent market share gains against long-established competitors in the high-margin full-size pickup segment.

Ram Trucks has cultivated strong brand resonance among both work-focused commercial buyers and recreational truck owners, building a loyal customer base through consistent product updates and targeted marketing that emphasizes its American truck heritage. Under Stellantis ownership, the brand has received sustained investment in product development, including the expansion of electrified powertrain options to align with global automotive industry shifts toward lower-emission vehicles. This strategic investment has helped the brand maintain relevance amid changing consumer and regulatory demands.

Brand Leadership

Score: 72/100

Ram Trucks holds a strong top-two position in the U.S. full-size pickup truck segment, earning critical acclaim for product innovations such as its multi-function tailgate and eTorque mild hybrid system. It leads the industry in customer satisfaction for ride quality in full-size pickups, and has established a strong foothold in the growing premium pickup niche.

Customer Brand Interaction

Score: 68/100

Ram Trucks engages customers through experiential marketing focused on outdoor work and recreation events, social media content highlighting real-world truck usage, and a dedicated owner community. It leverages Stellantis's customer relationship infrastructure to maintain ongoing connections with buyers, though it lags behind top segment competitors in digital personalization and broad direct-to-consumer engagement reach.

Brand Momentum

Score: 75/100

Ram Trucks has recorded steady market share growth in North America over the past decade, with strong customer demand for its core 1500 series pickups. The recent launch of its all-electric Ram 1500 REV has generated significant industry and consumer interest, positioning the brand to capture growth in the emerging electric pickup segment and maintaining positive momentum relative to legacy competitors.

Brand Stability

Score: 80/100

Backed by Stellantis, one of the world's largest global automakers, Ram Trucks benefits from solid financial backing, established supply chain networks, and consistent product development planning. Its core customer base exhibits high loyalty, with strong repeat purchase rates that support stable brand performance even during economic downturns impacting the broader automotive industry.

Standalone Brand Age

Score: 35/100

Ram Trucks was formally established as an independent standalone brand in 2010, making it a relatively young brand in the global automotive sector. While it draws on more than a century of truck manufacturing heritage from the original Dodge Ram line, its formal identity as a separate brand is still relatively new compared to long-standing competitors in the pickup segment.

Industry Profile

Score: 78/100

Ram Trucks is one of the most recognizable full-size pickup brands in North America, with very high brand awareness among regional consumers. It is widely viewed as an innovator in modern pickup truck design and features, and it is a key contributor to Stellantis's overall profitability in North America, where full-size pickups represent a high-margin core market segment.

Brand Globalization

Score: 25/100

Nearly all of Ram Trucks' sales and operations are concentrated in the North American market, with minimal official presence in other major automotive markets including Europe, Asia, and most of South America. While parent company Stellantis has a global distribution network that could support expansion, the brand has not pursued widespread international growth as of 2026, leaving its global footprint very limited.

AI-assisted analysis can support structured reasoning about Ram Trucks' brand value based on market position, customer loyalty, and growth prospects. Any brand value figures generated through this process are illustrative only, as they do not undergo the rigorous auditing and data verification process required for official brand valuation. To obtain an officially audited brand value assessment for Ram Trucks, contact the World Brand Lab directly.

Overview

Ram Trucks

former name	Dodge Ram
type	Division
location city	Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S. Administration, Research, Engineering & Design
foundation	2009
area served	North America, Middle East, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Angola
industry	Automobile
predecessor	Historical: Graham Brothers Trucks, Fargo Trucks, Plymouth Trucks,‡R1R‡ and Dodge Truck division

key people	Tim Kuniskis (CEO)

products	Trucks and vans

parent	Stellantis North America

homepage	ramtrucks.com

Ram Trucks (stylized as RAM) is an American brand of light to mid-weight pickup heavy duty trucks and other commercial vehicles, and a division of Stellantis North America (previously Chrysler Group LLC). It was established in a spin-off of Dodge in 2009 using the name of the Ram pickup line of trucks.[2] Ram Trucks' logo was originally used as Dodge's logo. New series Ram 1500 pickups are made at Sterling Heights Assembly in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Since its inception, the brand has used the slogan "Guts. Glory. Ram."

From October 2023, Ram became part of the Stellantis Pro One global commercial vehicles division.[3]

Background

Prior to the 1970s, Dodge had maintained a separate marque for trucks, Fargo Trucks, primarily for use outside the United States. After that point, all trucks made by Chrysler were distributed under the Dodge marque.

In June 2009, when Chrysler emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Fiat Group received a 20% stake in Chrysler Group LLC and Sergio Marchionne was appointed CEO, replacing CEO Robert Nardelli.[4] On June 10 that year, substantially all of Chrysler's assets were sold to "New Chrysler", organized as Chrysler Group LLC. The federal government provided support for the deal with US$8 billion in financing at near 21%. Under CEO Marchionne, "World Class Manufacturing" or WCM, a system of thorough manufacturing quality, was introduced and several products re-launched with quality and luxury. The Ram, Jeep, Dodge, SRT and Chrysler divisions were separated to focus on their own identity and brands.

Ram Trucks was established as a division of Chrysler in 2010, as a spin-off from Dodge, and using the name of the Dodge Ram line of pickups that is now sold under the Ram banner.[5] According to Chrysler, the Ram Trucks brand will concentrate on "real truck customers", rather than casual truck buyers who buy trucks for image or style.[6]

The Fiat Ducato cargo van design has been adopted and is sold as the Ram ProMaster in North American markets, filling the gap created when Daimler ended production of the Dodge Sprinter in 2008. The goal was to increase truck sales "from today's 280,000 to 415,000 by 2014".[7]

Executives at Chrysler stated their intention to compete in the semi-trailer truck category with Ram, a possibility that was aided by Fiat's ownership of Iveco and an already available network of Dodge dealers. Ram trucks are marketed separately from Dodge cars; former Ram Division President Fred Diaz stated, "Ram trucks are not a Dodge model. Ram will always be 'vinned' (Vehicle Identification Number) as a Ram. We need to continue to market as Ram so Dodge can have a different brand identity: hip, cool, young, energetic. That will not fit the campaign for truck buyers. The two should have distinct themes."[8]

On July 21, 2011, Fiat bought the Chrysler shares held by the U.S. Treasury, increasing its stake in the company.[9]

In April 2013, Diaz left Ram Trucks to serve as vice president of Nissan's divisional sales and marketing. He was replaced by Reid Bigland.[10]

Fiat Chrysler formed as a new corporate entity in January 2014.

In August 2014, Ram Trucks CEO Reid Bigland was tapped to lead the Alfa Romeo brand in North America. It was announced that the new head of the Ram Trucks brand would be longtime Chrysler employee Robert Hegbloom, who joined Chrysler in 1986 and had been a director for Dodge. In October 2018, Bigland was promoted to CEO of Ram Trucks. Shortly thereafter, he discovered that the division had been misreporting sales figures and turned over that information to the U.S. government for investigation. Allegedly, Fiat Chrysler cut his bonuses in retaliation, which resulted in Bigland filing a whistleblower lawsuit against them. In March 2020, Bigland announced his resignation.[11]

In December 2024, former CEO of Dodge and Ram, Tim Kuniskis came out of retirement to once again become CEO of Ram.[12]

Stellantis formed in 2021 when Fiat Chrysler merged with the French PSA Group.[13][14]

Stellantis to introduce its first hydrogen-powered vehicle in the North American market.[15]

The Ram brand logo features the head of a ram, formerly the logo used by Dodge.

Trucks

For specifically foreign-market models (designed by Chrysler Europe, etc.), see below.

From 1927 to 1928, all trucks built by Dodge were sold under the Graham name, as that company held the marketing rights at that time.

Current

Ram pickup (1981–present): The brand's flagship product line of pickup trucks.
Ram 1500 (DT) (2019–present): Full-sized pickup truck, the company's fifth-generation model.
Ram 1500 REV (2026, expected): Plug-in hybrid full-sized pickup truck.
Ram 1500 TRX (2021–2024; 2027-present): High-performance full-sized pickup truck.
Ram Heavy Duty (2019–present): Series of heavy-duty pickup truck models.
Ram 700 (2014–present): The Fiat Strada

Production

Ram vehicles are manufactured at five facilities; two in North America, one in Western Asia, and two in South America.

Sterling Heights Assembly, Sterling Heights, Michigan, United States. This facility was first built in 1953 as the Michigan Ordinance Missile Plant, operated by the US Army. Chrysler Corporation purchased the facility in 1983. The plant currently produces the Ram 1500 (Quad Cab and Crew Cab).[19]
Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant, Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The facility first opened in 1995. The plant manufactures the Ram 2500-5500 Heavy Duty and the Mexico-only DX Chassis Cab.[20] The plant has won numerous awards and has been recognized as the Chrysler groups best truck facility in terms of build quality.[21] The Saltillo stamping plant is also attached to the facility.
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In popular culture

Ram Trucks entered popular culture in an unintentional way on February 4, 2018, during Super Bowl LII.[22] Their commercial's use of Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermon "The Drum Major Instinct" was quickly and widely panned by audiences, academics, news outlets and social media alike.[23][25][26] Of particular concern was its usage of a speech in which King condemned advertising ("we are so often taken by advertisers ... those gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion") to sell more Ram Trucks.[27] Within hours, content creators on YouTube had made spin-offs ("What Martin Luther King Actually Thought About Car Commercials", "The MLK Super Bowl Ad Dodge Didn't Show You", "What Dodge LEFT OUT Of Their MLK Commercial In Super Bowl", etc.) that showed a more accurate perspective of King's sermon and opinions about advertising.[29]

European versions of Ram vans

Fiat Professional was FCA's global light commercial vehicle brand marketed outside North America, marketing the same vans marketed as Ram in the Americas. In the other part of Stellantis, PSA, and all brands except DS Automobiles sell vans in three sizes under their respective brands.

External links

References

Motoring Memories: Plymouth Trucks, 1937–1941 and 1974–1983 autos.ca, July 9, 2010, retrieved August 11, 2023^
Andrew Macfarlane. Here's How Dodge Pickups Evolved Over The Years Hot Cars, 2022-04-24, retrieved 2023-12-16^
Stellantis Pro One: Commercial Vehicles Offensive to Boost Global Leadership