1500

Make
Ram
Segment
Sports Car

There is a new No. 2 truck brand in the US market, after Fiat Chrysler's Ram Trucks experienced a surge in sales for the 2019 calendar year, sailing right past the US's former No. 2 truck brand, Chevrolet. In total, Ram Trucks saw its US pickup truck sales rise to 633,694 units, compared to 575,600 unit sales between Chevy's light-, medium-, and heavy-duty truck models.

Ram's 2019 pickup truck sales represent an 18-percent increase over the previous year, and they set a new record for the brand since it spun off from FCA's Dodge in 2009.

The light-duty Ram 1500, which makes up the bulk of the brand's pickup truck sales, was completely redesigned for the 2019 model year, but sales were further bolstered by FCA's decision to keep the previous-generation 1500 in production as the Ram 1500 Classic. Originally intended as a stop-gap to meet demand while production of the all-new Ram 1500 ramped up, the Classic model is now planned to stay on for a bit longer, possibly even receiving an update.

That's good news for fans of the old design, of course, but it's also a prudent business decision, as the previous-generation Ram 1500 continues to sell remarkably well for an out-of-date design.

This past year, Ram Trucks also followed up its 1500 redesign by bringing out an all-new Ram Heavy Duty line. Its pièce de résistance is a new 6.7L Cummins six-cylinder turbo-diesel rated at up to 1,000 lb-ft of torque. With that engine, given the right configuration, the 2020 Ram 3500 HD can tow up to an astonishing 35,100 pounds.

In Ram's Q4 2019 sales report, FCA's Head of Ram and US Sales, Reid Bigland, chalked the success up to two "significant decisions" made by the brand: to "invest in technology and adopt a three-truck strategy."

"It has taken some hard work, but it has been a true reward to see how Ram has evolved over the past 10 years."