No Jeep pick-up but Ram trucks under review

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No Jeep pick-up but Ram trucks under review

Date
December 13, 2013





Jeep has dismissed the notion of creating a ute version of its Wrangler simply because its factories are full.

The American off-road brand has toyed with a number of concepts over the years, and key company executives admit it would be a perfect addition to its range, particularly in Australia where workhorses such as the Toyota HiLux are among the most popular new cars on the sales charts.

But the popularity of its existing Wrangler two-door and four-door models has taken its Toledo plant in Ohio to maximum capacity.

“We’ve talked about it over and over, but the short answer is no,” Jeep’s head of exterior design, Mark Allen, told Drive in Detroit.
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“I’d love to have one, but with the two-door and four-door at the moment we are at full capacity and we don’t even have enough room to put another colour in that plant.”

Despite its agricultural underpinnings, the Wrangler has proven to be a hit not just in America but in Australia too with Chrysler selling more than 2500 units last year - making it the most popular convertible in the country.

Chrysler Australia does offer an official Mopar ute conversion kit that transforms the four-door Wrangler into a carry-all workhorse.

However, it may have an alternative plan to satisfy the tradies with the company evaluating the Ram range of heavy trucks.

“We need to fully understand the nature of demand for large pick-ups in the Australian market before we commit to it,” said Chrysler Fiat Australia spokeswoman, Karla Leach.

“The product is available in overseas markets, but there is still no confirmation of right-hand production in this current generation.

“There are engineering challenges within the existing platform for right-hand drive and we are not in the business of converting locally.

“So we will keep an eye on developments as we constantly review the opportunity to introduce it to Australia if the demand does exist.”
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor...zcha.html#poll