SUV

This is the same engine used in the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel , but while Jeep is seeing an 8 percent take-rate for the diesel engine, Ram president and CEO Reid Bigland tells AN that they’re still seeing overwhelming demand in the Ram 1500. In the article, Bigland was quoted as saying:"We got well in excess of 10,000 orders in just the first few days that we opened this thing up, and that ordering and demand has really sustained itself. We've sent word over to VM Motori and they're in the process of ramping up, but realistically, nobody can turn a switch to do the things that it takes to get ramped up, but they're in the process of doing it."VM Motori is currently producing 100,000 of the EcoDiesel engines annually with only about 50,000 earmarked for the U.S. As it currently stands, Jeep is on pace to sell about 15,000 diesel Grand Cherokee SUVs this year leaving just 35,000 for Ram. So far, Chrysler isn’t letting on to any pressure for Jeep to give up some of its engines to Ram, but if demand for the high-profit truck continues to outpace the niche diesel, we’re sure that could change sooner rather than later.Ram isn’t saying what percentages of trucks are selling with the diesel, but the article does state that the brand is currently experiencing a 13-day supply of Ram 1500 EcoDiesel models versus a 94-day supply of gasoline-powered Ram 1500 trucks. Conversely, even with the decent 8 percent of Grand Cherokee owners opting for the EcoDiesel, it still isn’t enough demand for Jeep to consider selling a diesel Cherokee in the U.S.If VM Motori were to up its production capacity, it would take “less than 18 months” to accomplish.