BrandsRam Is Building a Compact Pickup to Take On the Ford Maverick
AI-generated concept illustration of the Ram Rampage compact pickup — not an official Ram image. | Rev N Rise
Ram has been sitting out the compact pickup segment for 15 years. The Ford Maverick launched in 2022, became MotorTrend's 2026 Truck of the Year, and created a market that Ram has watched from the sidelines without a single competing product. That changes now. At the Stellantis Investor Day on May 21, Tim Kuniskis confirmed it officially — Ram is coming for the Maverick with a compact pickup of its own, and production begins in 2028.
Ram dropped the Dakota — its last compact truck — after the 2011 model year. In the years that followed, Ram focused entirely on the full-size 1500 and Heavy Duty segments, where margins are highest and brand identity is strongest. When Ford launched the Maverick in 2022 at a starting price under $22,000 and sold out its entire first year of production before the truck had even hit dealerships, Ram's leadership paid attention. But attention alone does not produce a truck.
The question that held Ram back for years was the same one that held every other full-size truck brand back: profitability. Compact trucks sell on price. Buyers in this segment are not the same buyers who will spend $75,000 on a Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn. The margins are thinner. The brand equity transfers less directly. And if you get the product wrong — too expensive, too soft, too car-like — the buyers who want an affordable truck will simply keep buying the Maverick instead of switching to you.
What changed is Stellantis's FaSTLAne 2030 strategy. With a €60 billion commitment to 60 new models across four priority brands — Ram, Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot — Kuniskis now has the product development budget and the platform resources to enter segments that Ram has never contested in North America. The compact pickup is one of the last major truck segments without a Ram product. By 2030, that will not be true.
The confirmed name for Ram's compact North American pickup is the Ram Rampage — a nameplate that already exists and has been proving itself in South America since 2023. The Brazilian Ram Rampage launched as a four-door crew cab compact pickup on a unibody platform shared with the Jeep Compass and Fiat Toro. It measures approximately 198 inches long — almost exactly the same footprint as the Ford Maverick, which is 199.7 to 200.9 inches long depending on trim.
The unibody architecture is significant. Unlike traditional body-on-frame trucks — where a separate cab and bed sit on top of a rigid ladder frame — unibody trucks integrate the structure into the body itself, the same way a car is built. This makes them lighter, more fuel-efficient, more car-like to drive and less expensive to manufacture. It also means they cannot match a body-on-frame truck for towing capacity or off-road durability. The Maverick uses the same unibody approach — and its buyers have accepted those trade-offs in exchange for a starting price under $30,000 and fuel economy figures that a traditional truck cannot match.
The Brazilian Ram Rampage gives a very clear indication of what the North American version will look like and how it will perform. The South American model offers a 2.0-litre Hurricane turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 272 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque — significantly more powerful than the Ford Maverick's optional 2.0-litre EcoBoost, which produces 250 horsepower. A 2.0-litre turbodiesel producing 200 horsepower is also available internationally, though diesel is unlikely for the North American market.
The Rampage in Brazil is offered with a 9-speed ZF automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive. Its bed is short but functional — four-door crew cab configuration only, no two-door or extended cab options. The truck has proven popular in South America not just for its capability but for its design — a properly truck-like front end with Ram's seven-slot grille and body-coloured trim that looks more premium than its price suggests. Rebel and R/T trim levels are available, with the R/T targeting street-oriented buyers and the Rebel focused on mild off-road capability.
The Rampage does not arrive in isolation. At the same Investor Day, Ram confirmed an entire truck portfolio expansion that fills every gap in its current lineup. Below the full-size 1500, Ram now has three confirmed future products:
The Ram Rampage — the compact unibody pickup confirmed for 2028 — sits at the bottom of the range, targeting the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. Above it, the Ram Dakota midsize pickup is also confirmed for 2028, built on a body-on-frame platform shared with the Jeep Gladiator and assembled alongside it at the Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio. The Dakota targets the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier and Ford Ranger. And confirming that Ram's ambitions extend beyond just competing, a Dakota SRT is also being developed — a high-performance midsize truck with over 400 horsepower targeting the Ford Ranger Raptor directly.
The breadth of this expansion is significant. In 2025, Ram had no compact truck, no midsize truck and no SRT performance truck below the full-size segment. By 2030, it will have all three — plus the Rumble Bee street truck and the full 1500, 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty range. Tim Kuniskis is rebuilding Ram's product portfolio from the bottom up.
The Ford Maverick currently starts at approximately $28,000 for the standard hybrid model and has been MotorTrend's Truck of the Year for 2026. Its 2.5-litre hybrid powertrain delivers 191 horsepower and a claimed 42 mpg city — making it one of the most fuel-efficient pickups ever sold in America. The optional 2.0-litre EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder raises power to 250 horsepower but drops fuel economy significantly.
The Ram Rampage, based on the South American specification, would enter this comparison with 272 horsepower from its turbocharged four-cylinder — outpowering the Maverick EcoBoost by 22 horsepower. Whether Ram will offer a hybrid variant for the North American market to compete with the Maverick's outstanding fuel economy is the single most important unknown in the Rampage story. Without a hybrid option, the Rampage will struggle to match the Maverick's running costs and appeal to the value-focused buyers who make this segment work. With a hybrid, it becomes a genuinely complete challenger.
| Name | Ram Rampage — C-segment compact pickup |
| Platform | Unibody — shared with Jeep Compass / Fiat Toro |
| Length | ~198 inches — same as Ford Maverick |
| Body | 4-door crew cab — short bed |
| Engine (South American) | 2.0L Hurricane turbo I4 — 272hp / 400 Nm |
| Diesel (not for US) | 2.0L turbo diesel — 200hp |
| Transmission | 9-speed ZF automatic |
| Drive | AWD standard |
| Hybrid option | Not confirmed for US — likely needed |
| US Price Target | Under $29,000 — to compete with Maverick |
| Production Start | Calendar year 2028 |
| Segment | C-segment — below Ram Dakota midsize |
| Ford Maverick Price | From ~$28,000 — 2026 MotorTrend Truck of the Year |
| Confirmed by | Tim Kuniskis — Stellantis Investor Day — May 21 2026 |
| Rampage in South America | Launched 2023 — bestseller in Brazil |
| Rampage in Europe | Launched late 2025 — Rebel and R/T trims |
The Rampage announcement is part of what Kuniskis described as Ram's plan for a 60 percent sales gain by the end of the decade. To achieve that growth from a brand that currently sells primarily the 1500 and Heavy Duty trucks, Ram needs new segments — and the compact truck is one of the largest untapped opportunities available. The Ford Maverick sells over 100,000 units per year in the United States with essentially no direct American competition. That is a market Ram is currently leaving entirely to Ford.
The Ramcharger SUV — also confirmed at the Investor Day — completes a picture of a brand expanding in every direction simultaneously. Performance trucks at the top with the Rumble Bee SRT. Workhorse trucks in the middle with the 1500 and Heavy Duty. A midsize Dakota below the 1500. A compact Rampage below the Dakota. And a family SUV alongside all of them. By 2030, Ram will be the most complete truck brand in North America — a position it has never held before in its relatively short history as a standalone brand.
Ram has not confirmed official US pricing for the Rampage. Based on the competitive positioning against the Maverick and Kuniskis's stated goal of a price point that makes Ram competitive in the value-focused compact segment, the target is under $29,000 for the base model — placing it directly alongside or slightly below the Maverick's current entry price. Production begins in calendar year 2028. Full specifications, powertrain details and confirmed pricing will be released closer to the production start date.
Ram sitting out the compact pickup segment for 15 years while the Ford Maverick sold out year after year was one of the most surprising strategic gaps in American truck history. The Rampage announcement fixes that — and the South American model gives us a very clear preview of what is coming: a properly truck-looking, 272-horsepower, all-wheel-drive crew cab at under $29,000. Whether Ram adds a hybrid to match the Maverick's fuel economy is the key question. If it does, the Rampage will be genuinely competitive. If it does not, it will be a performance-focused alternative rather than a direct replacement. Either way — Ram is finally coming. The Maverick's five-year head start is about to feel considerably shorter.