The talk from the Big Three lately makes it seem like their EV plans are the first step in a goal of world domination, but God knows America’s automakers are still well-aware of where they butter their bread. The Ford F-150 is still the single best-selling vehicle in America, the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra outsell the F-150, and, as Muscle Cars and Trucks reports, right now Ram just can’t make enough 6.4-liter Power Wagons for people who want them.
Speaking to the publication, Adrian Ratza, Ram Heavy Duty brand manager, said the automaker simply can’t meet the demand at the moment because of various limitations including, what else, supply chain factors. “We can’t sell enough Power Wagons,” he told MC&T. However, he also added, “I don’t know if that’s such a bad thing either.”
A series of factors are at play here, and surprisingly the chip shortage isn’t necessarily one of them. The truck has numerous components built by outside suppliers like the integrated winch and special shock absorbers. The supply of those parts limits how many trucks can roll off the line. Just the same, almost all Ram heavy duty trucks come from the same plant in Saltillo, Mexico. Ratza says this isn’t a disadvantage, though.
The automaker is very happy with how many units it sells as a portion of overall Ram sales, even though it’s only around five percent. Ratza notes the truck sells in a diverse amount of regions in the United States, which seems to indicate the demand is robust. “We’re seeing Power Wagon sales everywhere, cross country. I can’t say that most sales are located in one geographical area… our sales from New England to out west and down into Texas, we’re seeing Power Wagon sales everywhere. It has that appeal as an icon.”
As a reminder, the Power Wagon is an off-roadified Ram 2500 with goodies like a unique lifted suspension, a 12,000-pound winch integrated into the front bumper, locking front and rear diffs, disconnecting sway bar, skid plates, a 410-horsepower V8 and beadlock-capable wheels.
In a nutshell, Ram makes a certain amount of them it’s happy with, and has no problem selling them. “As soon as they hit the lot they don’t stay there,” Ratza said. Limited production or not, with a seemingly rock-solid demand and assumedly more-than-acceptable margins, Ram sees the Power Wagon as a winner it doesn’t want to mess with.
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