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Increased competition between Ram and Chevrolet – and the imminent arrival of Ford and Toyota full-size pick-ups – could soon start a price war.
03:3406 April 2023
The cost of US pick-ups – which are selling at record levels in Australia – could soon get sharper after years of price rises, as the number of competing brands doubles from two to four.
Increased competition between Ram and Chevrolet – and the imminent return of Ford and arrival of Toyota full-size pick-ups – could soon start a price war.
Most US pick-ups currently cost between $100,000 and $150,000 in Australia – about twice the prices offered in North America, due to expensive local remanufacturing programs that convert the vehicles from left- to right-hand-drive.
When asked if Ram head office in the US would support local market leader, Ram Trucks Australia, with sharper prices, the global boss told Drive at the New York Auto Show overnight:
“Now that some of our competitors are coming back, it’s going to get real interesting,” said Ram boss Mike Koval.
“For sure, we have a strong working relationship (with Ram Trucks Australia). Open, transparent. Their success is our success, and vice versa.
“We work together if there are challenges … one of the things we always have to do, we have to ensure competitiveness in the marketplace.
“We will always have those conversations.”
Ram Trucks Australia increased prices of some models by up to $10,000 at the start of the year, citing the rising costs of manufacturing and shipping.
Chevrolet pick-ups have also had a series of price rises over the past two years in Australia.
However, both Ram and Chevrolet each have only about 50 dealers nationally – compared to Ford (160) and Toyota (230) – which makes their sales dominance vulnerable to the new arrivals.
The arrival of Ford (later this year) and Toyota (early next year) in the full-size US pick-up market in Australia is expected to bring some welcome downward pressure on prices.
As segment leader, Ram has the most to lose due to the new competition.
Ram Trucks Australia outsold Chevrolet by more than two-to-one last year – and posted all time record sales locally.
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National Motoring Editor
Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.
