Spy photographers recently captured a camouflaged mid-size pickup truck at the FCA U.S. Headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI, and it raises some new questions about the truck plans for the Ram and Jeep brands.
Covered in heavy camouflage is a Fiat Toro pickup, which is reportedly based on a lengthened version of the 4x4 architecture used on the Jeep Renegade. With talks of Jeep producing a future pickup truck and Ram possible expanding its offerings, this Toro-based pickup offers a unique possibility for FCA. A quick look at our recent story on the Jeep Comanche Concept vehicle, which is a mini-truck based on the Renegade platform, shows that the company is at least toying with the possibility of a truck smaller than a half-ton internally, even though an actual two-seater mini-truck may not be in the cards.
Spy photographers capturing the vehicle found the test truck running on public roads with a Jeep Renegade support vehicle in tow, and seeing the two in action makes it easier to note the Toro’s 26-inch longer length than the Renegade. Exactly where the Toro would fit into the U.S. truck market is a major question, though, as it smaller than the Chevy Colorado, Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma. It actually is more in line with Hyundai’s Santa Cruz pickup concept unveiled at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, which is reportedly in the Korean automaker’s product pipeline in the future.
With plans for more trucks on the horizon from FCA, it’s possible the company is following suit with its recent plans to maximize the use of its global platforms and, in turn, broaden its U.S. offerings.
This truck would fall in line more so with crossover buyers than pure truck enthusiasts of the Ram brand, but it’s possible a U.S.-spec version of the Fiat Toro could find a niche in the U.S. market using either the Ram or Jeep badge. At this point it’s pure speculation, but FCA certainly wasn’t shy about showing off this vehicle on the city streets, so the company’s potential development of a new crossover pickup could be coming down the pipe. Stay tuned.