SPY PICS: New RAM 1500 pick-up

This is our best look yet at the 2019 RAM 1500 pick-up, caught for the first time out on public roads just outside of Detroit.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is working overtime to get its next-generation RAM out, and its North American sales launch is likely to quickly follow its expected debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

FCA is expecting a predicting a big jump in RAM sales from truck-hungry consumers, but there’s no confirmation of reports the next RAM will be the first to go global and built in both right- and left-hand drive ex-factory.

Either way, the new RAM will be available in Australia, where it is currently sold by a range of local converters led by American Special Vehicles, a joint venture between Sydney-based Ateco Automotive and Melbourne-based Walkinshaw Automotive Group.

However, it remains unclear if the 2019 RAM 1500 will come Down Under, where ASV’s RAM line-up opens with the larger RAM 2500.

Apart from the new looks, comprehensively smothered in this heavily-clad dual-cab prototype spotted by Automedia spy photographers, the next-gen RAM 1500 is also expected to showcase a number of standout features including an optional split tailgate, air suspension and a revised engine line-up including a mild hybrid based on a four-cylinder turbo engine.

The wheelbase on this model previews a vastly roomier model and therefore more space inside for passengers and cargo. FCA is expected to upgrade the interior, especially on popular top-tier models, with the latest UConnect systems and other technologies previewed in the 2017 Pacifica minivan.

Thanks to an all-new platform that’s expected to be shared with Jeep’s born-again Grand Wagoneer, which it self is yet to be confirmed for RHD and therefore an official Australian release, word is the next-gen RAM 1500 will shed weight too, improving overall performance and efficiency.

Expect the current V6s and V8s to carry on, but with a few updates. The 3.0-litre V6 EcoDiesel should also stay put, but FCA’s ongoing problem with the EPA over diesel emissions may alter those plans.