- Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis plans to bring back a small work truck to the Ram Professional lineup, such as first reported by Mopar Insider.
- A Ram spokesperson has now confirmed this Car and driver that a small van like the ProMaster City is in the making.
- What remains unknown is when the new product will arrive and whether it will reuse the ProMaster City name.
It seems that everything old is new again in Aries. Mopar Insider recently spoke with Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, who acknowledged that there is a Ram ProMaster City-sized hole in the lineup that the company is looking to fill. The compact van was last sold here for the 2022 model year, leaving only gas and electric versions of the high-performance ProMaster in the van stable.
Car and driver confirmed the story with a Ram PR rep, who left the door open for another name to be applied to the reborn mini work truck. Whatever it’s called, we’re told the brand “will offer a small van in the Ram Professional lineup.” However, if you take Kuniskis at his word, the name will likely return. He told Mopar Insider in part, “…we’re bringing back ProMaster City.”
Small vans were big until they weren’t
Compact vans were everywhere in the 2010s. These models tended to take the (recognizable) name of their big brother’s big van and add a smallness meaning to it. We had the Ford Transit Connectthe Nissan NV200and even the Chevrolet Express Citywhich itself was a rebadged NV200. Those models are no longer available here; Ford was the last to leave the segment.
Unlike the Transit Connect, the ProMaster City was only offered here as a panel van for work, not for passenger transport. We expect this to remain the case when the new van arrives. The OG PMC was based on the Fiat Doblo; that model was recently redesigned, along with several spin-offs in the Stellantis verse – Citroën Berlingo, Opel/Vauxhall Combo, Peugeot Partner/Rifter – as well as a Toyota-sold version called the ProAce City (hey, that word again!). Those vans are soon due for a mid-cycle refresh, which would be perfect timing to develop new dashboards and badging for a Ram-ified North American version.
As for when we’ll see a reborn Ram compact van, Kuniskis and Ram aren’t saying yet. Those European vans offer electric versions, but given the sentiments about electric cars in this market, we expect the next small Ram to run on gas only.
Getting the band back together
Kuniskis, who once was and now is again the CEO of the Ram brand, has done a lot of work to bring back beloved products. Those biggest hits include the Hemi-powered Ram 1500 and a new Ram TRX, now with a 777-hp Hellcat under the hood. The ProMaster City appears to be the next act to join this reunion tour of sorts.
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Ever since David was a little kid Car and driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet of all the vehicles he has driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel park a school bus and once reversed a Lincoln Town Car at 60 mph. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he is back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David isn’t looking for the perfect used car, you can find him with the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition groceries.
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