Ram Finally Has A Maverick Rival, But Ford's Pricing Could Ruin The Party

It's Investor Day at Stellantis and that means it's time to hear what Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler might be up to in the future and what new or updated models are on the horizon. Yesterday, Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover announced that the two companies have become friends, with the primary concern being that both brands need to make new vehicles. 

At least Stellantis is optimistic. By 2030, across its North American brands, Stellantis is planning on having nine models of cars under $39,000, with two of those models starting under $29,000. Perhaps the most exciting news is that the Dakota is coming back, perhaps to pick a fight with the Ford Ranger and Chevy Colorado. The nameplate already exists in South America. Additionally, the Ram Rampage made an appearance in the presentation, which could be a shot across the bow at Ford's affordable pickup price king, the Maverick. It's a little early to tell what models are coming out when or what the prices are going to look like, but Stellantis definitely has a plan for the future when it comes to trucks smaller than the full-size Ram 1500.

As it stands, the Ford Maverick is aggressively priced, at a starting price of $28,145 for the XL-trim with front-wheel drive and a hybrid engine. The prices can, of course, go much higher than that if you opt for something sportier like the Lobo. Ram has its work cut out for it if it wants to beat Ford in the segment, especially since the Big Blue Oval already has a head start of a few years. A sub-$30,000 truck may do wonders for Ram and Stellantis, but no one is saying that it's going to be an easy fight.

For the rest of the Stellantis 2030 stable, Chrysler is getting three new models, the Airflow, Arrow, and Arrow Cross, although not much is known about what those models may entail. Jeep is getting what appears to be a truck or truck-like vehicle called the Wrangler Scrambler. Lastly, Dodge is getting a model called the GLH (a reference to the "Goes Like Hell" models from long ago), and a yet unnamed performance vehicle. 

Stellantis is making a lot of big statements for the future, it just has to prove that it's not overpromising and under-delivering.