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Fiat Doblo May Arrive in U.S. as Ram Commercial Van


NOVEMBER 17, 2009



Ford's Transit Connect may have carved a niche in the U.S. market, but it won't be alone for long. Fiat's looking to bring its new Fiat Doblo to the U.S. as a Ram van.

As part of its new product plan, Chrysler is divorcing the pickup and commercial models from the Dodge brand, selling them simply as "Ram" models. Chrysler wants the Ram brand to be home to more than just pickups, and during the 5-year business plan meeting, it revealed it was looking at importing a Fiat-sourced compact van in 2012.

Fiat's new Doblo, launched yesterday, seems like the perfect fit for such a position, and Automotive News confirms that a Doblo in North America is virtually a safe bet. Although the van is offered with a range of gasoline and diesel engines in Europe, powertrains for a North American model have not yet been disclosed. If Fiat takes the same route as Ford did with the Transit Connect, diesels won't be part of the product range, and manual transmissions will be eschewed in favor of automatics.

Like the Transit Connect, the Doblo will likely be built in Turkey and imported to the U.S.


LINK: Fiat Doblo May Arrive in U.S. as Ram Commercial Van ? Automotive News & Car Rumors at Automobile Magazine