2019 Ram production is “probably running today at 60 percent of cycle. That’s not where we need to be.” According to FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne. According to a new report by Automotive news the production ramp up of the all new Ram 1500 has proven to be challenging.
The 2019 Ram 1500 started production at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) in Sterling Heights, Michigan in mid-January. The plant was completely retooled to build the body-on-frame pickups, which was previously building the unibody Chrysler 200 midsize sedan. While it is normal for manufacturers to limit initial configurations with an all new design in order to reduce complexity on the production line during initial build out, things haven’t been progressing as quickly as FCA hoped they would. According to Automotive news SHAP is running two 10 hour shifts a day, 7 days a week and producing 1,000 trucks a day. They are working towards a goal of 1,400 trucks a day, FCA will be running the plant every weekend and holiday through Labor day in an effort to get production up to speed.
While we reported on Sunday that the Ram Rebel, trucks with the Ram Box option as well as quad cabs and a few other configurations are now in production, neither the 3.6 Pentastar V6 with eTorque or the 5.7 Hemi V8 with eTorque have begun production yet. We have previously reported that we expect both of the mild hybrid variants to enter production this Summer.
According to Automotive news, one of their sources says that there are more than 2,500 trucks in holding yards near the plant awaiting repairs for an electrical issue.
While production of the all new Ram trucks ramps up, FCA is relying on the outgoing 2018 Ram 1500, still in production at the Warren Truck plant to pick up the slack. Understandably sales of the outgoing truck are down 13% compared to last year.
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Source: Automotive News
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