Ram’s Mid-Size Truck Comeback Is Quietly Taking Shape

The mid-size truck market is about to get a little more crowded, and Ram is the one making room for itself. The brand’s long-anticipated entry is edging closer to reality, and while the name remains a mystery until production begins in 2028, we now know where it will be built and that it won’t simply borrow another model’s foundation.

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Initially, Stellantis planned to build this long-awaited pickup in Belvidere, Illinois. Now, that’s changing, and production will begin at its Toledo North plant in Ohio.

Toledo Takes the Lead

That’s the same place where Jeep builds the Wrangler. To handle the new truck, Stellantis will reportedly create a new third shift, hire some 900 new workers and recall laid-off ones.

According to a source close to the United Auto Workers (UAW) who spoke with Mopar Insiders, pilot production will begin in March of 2027 with an annual output target of 100,000 units. If it manages that figure and sells most of them, it’ll put Ram near the top of the segment, as it battles Toyota, Ford, and General Motors.

Not Just a Jeep in Disguise

What might be most surprising in this new report is that Ram won’t just badge-engineer its own version of the Gladiator. It’ll evidently get its own body-on-frame design, albeit with a similar design ethos. That opens the possibility that Jeep could eventually adapt Ram’s new architecture for a new Gladiator – if it makes one.

That said, those same sources say that the Ram truck will feature a chassis design that prioritizes on-road manners more than off-road ruggedness.

Stellantis is investing some $400 million into the Toledo facility as a part of its broader $13 billion plan to strengthen its American manufacturing base.

While Ram has yet to tell us much about the future mid-size truck, the groundwork being laid right now is a sign that it’s serious about competing in the segment it left behind over a decade ago.