Ram Australia defends price of its big rigs

RAM Trucks Australia has defended the pricing of its mighty pick-up trucks as it unleashes the latest torque-laden heavy hauler onto the market Down Under.

It comes as the price of entry for the American-sourced large utes – which are stripped back to metal locally as part of an extensive remanufacturing process to convert them to right-hand drive – is set to surge following the imminent drying up of outgoing stock of the discontinued Hemi V8 models that helped cement Ram’s reputation in Australia.

Speaking at the launch of the heavy duty 2500 and 3500 models – each of which has held pricing at $172,950 and $177,950 respectively, before on-road costs – local importer Ateco said the six-figure price tags represented solid value.

As well as more features, each is powered by an updated 6.7-litre inline six-cylinder Cummins turbo-diesel engine with almost triple the torque of regular utes, at 1458Nm.

More affordable 1500 models have exchanged the Hemi V8 for a new inline six-cylinder dubbed Hurricane.

While the Ram 2500 sells from $US45,565 ($A69,500) before on-road costs in the United States, that is for a basic Tradesman model not sold here.

Step up to the better-equipped Laramie offered here and it is $US64,725 ($A98,500) when fitted with a 4x4 system. Australian Rams then get more equipment again.

“We import a higher-spec vehicle than what may be commonly available off the showroom floor in the US with premium audio, premium seats, widescreen digital display, sunroof, spray-in bedliner, unique appearance packages – these are all optional items in the US but standard on our vehicles in Australia because we see Ram as a premium offering,” said Ateco Group PR manager Joshua Dowling.

“Then there are differences in taxes and shipping, both on the water and once the truck gets here.”

One of the biggest costs is that of stripping a vehicle back to metal and rebuilding it with the steering wheel on the right. Rather than a mere left- to right-hand drive conversion, Ateco refers to the process as remanufacturing.

Ateco says there are about 250 production line workers working on the Melbourne assembly line, which next month switches to a new multi-million-dollar facility in Dandenong South. Another 50 are involved in engineering and the company says each Ram truck gets up to 500 new parts fitted in Australia as part of an 85-man-hour process.

“While we are not going to break down costs piece by piece, the investment in the engineering, design, development, tooling and manufacturing for each new vehicle model is in the millions of dollars,” said Mr Dowling.

“Given the significant investment, a straight currency conversion from a US website is nowhere near an accurate equivalent of the Australian price.”

Ateco also says it considers the vehicles “premium offerings in Australia and New Zealand”.

However, despite pitching the vehicles as premium and focusing more heavily on private buyers, US pick-up trucks still pay no lUxury Car Tax, which for most vehicles is currently 33 per cent applied to the price above $80,567.

Despite every LandCruiser and Patrol attracting Luxury Car Tax, US pick-up trucks are exempt because they are considered commercial vehicles.

Either way, Rams are about to get pricier, at least for the more affordable 1500 model variants.

Outgoing Rams with the Hemi V8 are currently advertised for $109,950 drive-away, which is tens of thousands of dollars less than the $141,950 plus on-road costs starting price for their better-equipped six-cylinder successor that will soon be the most affordable model.

“There is limited availability of the Ram 1500 Big Horn in remaining stocks – when they’re gone they’re gone,” said Mr Dowling, who added that the vast majority of buyers gravitate to the more expensive Limited model.

The Limited V8 previously sold for $156,950 whereas the new six-cylinder Hurricane model is $159,950, each before on-road costs.

Ateco also moved to clear up confusion about how Rams are distributed locally, reinforcing that the former joint venture with Walkinshaw transitioned to a supplier arrangement not long after operations began in 2015.

“Walkinshaw has not been a joint venture partner in the Ram business for most of the past 10 years,” said Mr Dowling.

“We work closely with Walkinshaw and they are a trusted supplier and we have a great working relationship with them. But they work on contract to us, as they do with other brands, to complete the work we need, in the same way Magna Steyr in Austria contracts to Toyota with the Supra and Mercedes with the G-Wagen.”

Mr Dowling said the bulk of the work behind the scenes was done by Ram Trucks Australia, a division of Ateco.

“It’s Ram Trucks Australia that does the product planning. It is Ram Trucks Australia that decides which models to introduce. It is Ram Trucks Australia that negotiates on price and specs. It is Ram Trucks Australia that is responsible for the compliance of these vehicles.

“And it is Ram Trucks Australia that imports these vehicles in left-hand drive, oversees the entire engineering and remanufacturing process and distributes the vehicles to dealers in right-hand drive in Australia and New Zealand.”