Earlier this month, we told you that Ram Dakota production is scheduled to end by 2011. The Dakota first went on sale in 1987, creating the midsize pickup segment as an alternative to compact and full-size trucks.
But this might not be the end of the road for Dakota.
Ram Brand CEO Fred Diaz told PickupTrucks.com that the Dakota could still live on in markets outside the U.S. Now, we have a bit more information from Cristiano Rattazzi, president of Fiat Argentina. Rattazzi says that the Dakota could be produced at Fiat's plant in Cordoba, Argentina.
"There's room at the plant," said Rattazzi, in an interview with the TV show Autotecnica. "It won't happen tomorrow, but the possibility [of building the Dakota in Cordoba] exists."
Chrysler and Fiat are already working together to test manufacturing approaches for the Dakota as part of the new Chrysler-Fiat global alliance, Rattazzi said.
Why would Fiat continue manufacturing this timeworn truck? Building the Dakota in Argentina could give Fiat a quick and relatively low cost solution to compete directly against a brand new midsize entrant in South America - the Volkswagen Amarok. Volkswagen has already started Amarok production at its plant in Pacheco, Argentina, for sale in South America, Australia, Europe and Africa starting early next year.
Fiat wouldn't necessarily be starting from ground zero with the Dakota, either. Chrysler produced the second-generation Dakota at a factory in Brazil from 1998 to 2002.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/11/dakota-production-could-pickup-and-move-to-argentina.html
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