Filed under: Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Diesel, Ram



The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel shot out of the gate with strong sales by filling its initial allocation of 8,000 orders in just three days, in February. At the time, Ram expected that the oil-burning variant would account for around 10 percent of 1500 output, but it knew there was room to grow if the demand was there. Apparently it is, as the truck maker is doubling the diesel's production mix for the 2015 model year to 20 percent of the pickup's total volume.

Since hitting the market, the EcoDiesel has been a smashing success, according to Ram. The company claims that nearly 60 percent of its sales have been conquests from other truck brands, and its popularity has boosted the 1500's average transaction price, as well. In an accompanying video, brand president Bob Hegbloom said that customers have been demanding more of them.

"Innovation sometimes comes with risk, but being first to market with a diesel engine for the half-ton segment has shown to be a great decision for the Ram Brand," said Hegbloom in the company's release.

Now, Ram has a new deal with engine supplier VM Motori to allocate it even more of the EcoDiesel's 3.0-liter V6s for the 1500. They will be shipped to the recently enlarged Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan and Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant in Mexico, and the actual production increase will be complete by the end of November.

While we might see more of them on the road, the 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is essentially carried over from last year's model. It still uses the same 3.0-liter V6 with 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Scroll down for the video from Hegbloom explaining the decision and the full release from Ram.Continue reading Ram increasing EcoDiesel production [w/video]

Ram increasing EcoDiesel production [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Sep 2014 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



Permalink | Email this | Comments

More...