Why Did Ram Kill the ProMaster City Van?
Ram is an automaker likely well-known for its trucks, but the company is also a competitor in the van segment. The American automaker’s primary van offering is the ProMaster lineup. Like most other vans, Ram offered it as a work van and passenger van. However, here’s a look at why Ram decided to kill off the ProMaster City van.
Here’s a brief history of the Ram ProMaster City
Ram started selling the ProMaster City in 2015, and like most other vans in the segment, the ProMaster City was simply the passenger van version of the cargo van. The cargo van segment is relatively strong, but that’s not necessarily the case with the passenger van segment. After all, passenger vans are supposed to be larger and more spacious than minivans.
In theory, that makes passenger vans like the ProMaster City more attractive than minivans. Until recently, the minivan segment hasn’t been doing well, but rather than buying a passenger van, car shoppers have instead been buying SUVs. As a result, the passenger van segment struggled to sell, which was true for the ProMaster City.
According to CarFigures, in 2015, Ram sold just over 11,000 units of the ProMaster City. In the year after that, sales grew to 15,617 units. Unfortunately for the van, that year became the van’s best year in terms of sales for a long time. After 2016, ProMaster City sales fell every year for the next four years.
The simple reason why the ProMaster City was killed
In 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started, which obviously put a pause on a lot of the industry. That year was also the van’s worst, as the automaker only sold just over 10,000 units of the ProMaster City. In 2021, it bounced back, being the first time since its debut that the passenger van saw year-over-year growth in sales.
Interestingly enough, the passenger van continued to grow in sales in 2022. In fact, by the time 2022 was over, Ram had sold 15,914 units of the ProMaster City. That means that the van finally broke its sales record that it set back in 2016. However, that jump in sales wasn’t enough to convince the company that the van was worth the investment.
After all, its sales numbers have essentially stayed the same ever since it was introduced in 2015. Thus, as The Drive wrote, Ram decided to pull the plug on the ProMaster City in 2022. The 2022 model year is the passenger van’s final model year in the U.S. market. Ram is still selling the inventory it has, though. In fact, Ram sold almost 6,000 units in the first quarter of 2023. After the year is over, the ProMaster City will be gone from America.
The future of the Ram ProMaster City
There’s currently no indication that Ram will replace the ProMaster City with any option in the American market. That said, Ram sells the van elsewhere, and other markets will get an electric version of the model. Ram may eventually decide to bring that electric van over to the U.S., but there’s no guarantee.
As it stands, any American who’s interested in the van will have to consider the 2022 version. It’s a solid passenger van that starts at around $36,000 brand-new. It has a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that gets 178 hp. This engine allows it to get 21 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on highways, for 25 mpg combined. Additionally, it’s very spacious, as it seats five and has up to 131 cu. ft. of cargo capacity.
