2012 Ram 1500 Slt on 2040-cars

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Stellantis earnings rise along with EV sales

AMSTERDAM — Automaker Stellantis on Wednesday reported its earnings grew in 2022 from a year earlier and said its push into electric vehicles led to a jump in sales even as it faces growing competition from an industrywide shift to more climate-friendly offerings. Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot, said net revenue of 179.6 billion euros ($191 billion) was up 18% from 2021, citing strong pricing and its mix of vehicles. It reported net profit of 16.8 billion euros, up 26% from 2021. Stellantis plans to convert all of its European sales and half of its U.S. sales to battery-electric vehicles by 2030. It said the strategy led to a 41% increase in battery EV sales in 2022, to 288,000 vehicles, compared with the year earlier. The company has “demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe,” CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024.” The automaker is competing in an increasingly crowded field for a share of the electric vehicle market. Companies are scrambling to roll out environmentally friendly models as they look to hit goals of cutting climate-changing emissions, driven by government pressure. The transformation has gotten a boost from a U.S. law that is rolling out big subsidies for clean technology like EVs but has European governments calling out the harm that they say the funding poses to homegrown industry across the Atlantic. Stellantis' Jeep brand will start selling two fully electric SUVs in North America and another one in Europe over the next two years. It says its Ram brand will roll out an electric pickup truck this year, joining a rush of EV competitors looking to claim a piece of the full-size truck market. The company plans to bring 25 battery-electric models to the U.S. by 2030. As part of that push, it has said it would build two EV battery factories in North America. A $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung will bring one of those facilities to Indiana, which is expected to employ up to 1,400 workers. The other factory will be in Windsor, Ontario, a collaboration with South KoreaÂ’s LG Energy Solution that aims to create about 2,500 jobs. The EV push comes amid a slowdown in U.S.

Ram establishes new commercial truck division

To better go after the work truck market that its rivals Ford and General Motors have dominated for some time, the Ram Truck brand of Chrysler is starting a new sub-line of work vehicles called Ram Commercial. Rather than carrying the full Ram Commercial name, each model in the new lineup would wear the Tradesman trim level, which means that the Ram 1500 Tradesman is disappearing for retail buyers only and will still be available for commercial or fleet buyers.
The Ram Commercial lineup will consist of current products like the Ram 1500 Tradesman, Ram Heavy Duty Tradesman pickups and chassis cab trucks, and the Ram C/V Tradesman cargo van, but it will also be adding a new full-size van called the 2014 Ram ProMaster Tradesman based off the Fiat Ducato. It also looks like Ram Commercial will be getting a smaller van from the Fiat Professional brand to go up against small cargo-friendly vehicles like the Ford Transit Connect and Mini Clubvan, but we can't tell if this new model is based on the Fiat Scudo, Doblo and Florino.
Ram Commercial buyers will also benefit from the BusinessLink and "On The Job" programs. Both programs make it easier for businesses to purchase and maintain their fleets.

Ram 1500 to get Pentastar V6 option in top-shelf models

Ram has seen such positive customer feedback from its 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and TorqueFlight eight-speed automatic transmission in the Ram 1500 that it's bringing the powertrain upmarket, and it's now going to be available in truck's Laramie trim level (Laramie Limited pictured above). The new choice means better fuel economy and lower pricing in one of the 1500's higher-end models.
A Ram 1500 Laramie Quad Cab 4x2 with the 3.6-liter Pentastar and eight-speed automatic will retail for $38,775, plus a $1,195 destination charge. It's a savings of over $1,000 over the trim's current starting price.
Ram says the decision to offer the V6 option was customer driven. "Today's V6 engine is a lot stronger than yesterday," said Nick Cappa of Ram Truck media relations to Autoblog. Cappa notes that dealers have reported buyers returning from test drives who can't believe there are only six cylinders operating underhood.