2019 Ram 1500 Pickup Production Behind Schedule
FCA is slated to spend at least $300 million to address production problems that have plagued the 2019 Ram 1500 assembly line at the manufacturer’s Sterling Heights assembly plant.
In an earnings call to reporters last week, FCA boss Sergio Marchionne said that the plant is only running at 60% of its capacity. Production of the 2019 model began in January and is currently pumping out 1000 new Rams per day with a goal of 1400 per day.
“That's not where we need to be. We allowed enough time in 2017 to get that installation up, but it's proven to be challenging,” Marchionne said.
The plant is currently running two 10-hour shifts per day, including weekends and plans to do so right through until Labour Day including holidays.
The plant is still producing the previous-generation Ram 1500 to fill demand and might continue to do so right up until the end of 2018 or even early 2019.
According to Automotive News, the plant is having trouble with both models being produced simultaneously, and consequently thousands of the new models are experiencing electrical issues that need to be fixed before being shipped.
Some 2019s have begun to trickle into dealerships, but so far, it’s only ones equipped with the 5.7-litre V8 engine.