Chrysler Adds Commercial Unit to Ram Brand

Chrysler Group LLC is creating a new commercial-vehicle division of its Ram truck brand in preparation for the debut next spring of the latest generation of heavy-duty pickup trucks for fleets and small business.

The Ram Commercial unit will have its own staff for design, marketing and product development, according to Chrysler.

The company plans to publicly unveil the revamped Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis cab trucks at the Texas State Fair on Thursday. Chrysler expects to begin building the trucks in January at its plant in Saltillo, Mexico, and put them on sale by about March.

The company promises to provide more details about the vehicles at the Detroit auto show in January.

Next year the new commercial vehicle unit is likely to also begin selling two Ram-badged vans based on models developed by parent Fiat SpA. A version Fiat's Ducato fullsize commercial van will be made in Saltillo. Chrysler plans to import a Turkish-made, Ram-badged version of the Fiat Doblo small commercial van.