Ram Dakota: Ford Ranger rival "would sell very well" in Australia

A Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux rival would make sense for Ram Trucks Australia’s showrooms, according to the brand’s head of international product and sales, who visited the country to help launch the Hemi V8-powered Ram 2500 Warlock.

US-based Amy Augustine, head of product and sales for Ram Trucks International, was speaking to CarExpert during her first visit to Australia, which included the Warlock launch.

“I do see a lot of mid-size trucks here and, you know, it looks like there’s a market for it. Jeff [Barber, Ram Trucks Australia general manager] and I are still discussing future products here, but I do see that there is a market for it here,” Ms Augustine said.

The Ford Ranger has been Australia’s top-selling vehicle for the past three years, having knocked the similarly sized Toyota HiLux from the position it had held since 2016.

Together, the two rivals have been the country’s most popular vehicles for more than a decade. The Ranger leads year-to-date sales with 32,796 deliveries, ahead of the HiLux on 32,161 and the Tesla Model Y electric SUV on 31,454.

For comparison, the Ram 1500 has been Australia’s top-selling full-size pickup for the past eight years, but recorded 2674 sales in 2025. A mid-size ute would take Ram into a much larger – but even more competitive – segment.

In late 2025, Ram global boss Tim Kuniskis told media the Dakota name would return in the United States. The name was previously used for a mid-size Dodge ute positioned below the full-size Ram pickups in size and price.

A return to the mid-size pickup segment could also expand Ram’s Australian lineup, with Mr Barber backing Ms Augustine’s view that such a model would benefit the brand locally.

“Absolutely – if it’s available to us, it will sell very well here,” Mr Barber told CarExpert.

“You use the word ‘Dakota’; I’m not too sure it’s going to be a Dakota – it might be – but a mid-size pickup, absolutely.”

A right-hand-drive version hasn't been confirmed, and it remains unclear whether Australian-market vehicles would be converted locally by Walkinshaw Automotive, the Melbourne-based company that currently remanufactures Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups for local showrooms.

Ram was separated from Dodge as a standalone brand in 2009, with its pickups adopting Ram branding for the 2010 model year. The Dakota was last offered in the US in 2011, having first appeared in 1986.

The Dakota name is also used for a pickup sold in South America, but the automaker has confirmed that model is unrelated to the new US-market Dakota discussed by Mr Kuniskis last year.

Ram parent Stellantis has confirmed the new pickup will enter production in 2028 at its Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, where the Jeep Gladiator sold in Australia is also manufactured.

Reports from Autoweek suggest it will use body-on-frame construction, like the Ranger and HiLux, while the company has indicated a starting price below $US40,000 (A$56,398), before sales taxes and on-road costs.

Although its powertrains have not been revealed, Stellantis has signalled that the lineup will include a high-performance SRT version. It could give the Ford Ranger Raptor a bona fide rival, given the performance of Ram’s 1500 SRT models, including the TRX due in Australia in 2027.

MORE: Explore the Ram Trucks Australia showroom