Just five years ago, contractors around the country were awash with choice in the midsize commercial van market. There were two solid options from domestic automakers, with the Ford Transit Connect and the Dodge ProMaster City. Or, if you wanted to be a bit fancier, Mercedes-Benz would sell you a Metris.
Then, in the summer of 2022, something happened. In the span of two months, between August and September, all three of those automakers announced they’d be discontinuing their respective midsize commercial vans. By the end of 2023, the entire segment had been killed off, leaving buyers to either shop used, buy a van that was too big for their needs, or purchase a normal passenger van and use it for commercial purposes.
Now, four years after killing the ProMaster City, Ram has decided that there’s now enough of a market to resurrect it. As before, the new version will be based on a van built in Europe, rebadged and upfitted to cater to the North American market. And honestly, it seems like the smartest decision Stellantis has made this year.
A Van That Goes By Many Names
Stellantis, the parent company for brands like Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler, is a very big company. In addition to its American arm, it also controls several big-name manufacturers in Europe, including Citroën, Peugeot, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Vauxhall, and Lancia. That means it had plenty of existing platforms to choose from when deciding to revive the ProMaster City for 2027.
The van it chose has actually been around since 2016, and has been sold under no fewer than seven different brands and 13 different names. Here, let me list them all out for you:
- Citroën Dispatch
- Citroën Holidays
- Citroën SpaceTourer
- Fiat Scudo
- Fiat Ulysse
- Iveco eJolly
- Opel Vivaro
- Opel Zafira Life
- Peugeot Expert
- Peugeot Expert Traveller
- Peugeot Traveller
- Toyota Proace
- Toyota Proace Verso
- Vauxhall Vivaro
My point is, the new ProMaster City isn’t really new. In fact, it’s pretty old, as far as product life cycles go. But that matters a lot less for commercial vehicles, where proven dependability, functionality, and parts availability are a lot more important than cutting-edge tech and modern design. Stellantis says it’s sold 1.5 million of these things, which means that when someone buys a ProMaster, they’ll know they’re not a guinea pig or an early adopter risking downtime when something silly breaks that wasn’t discovered in testing.
Speaking of design, the 2027 ProMaster City unsurprisingly shares a lot of its design with the vans mentioned above, save for a modernized fascia with specific Ram-style headlights and a new, modernized Ram badge across the nose. As far as work vans go, this one is pretty smartly designed, with short overhangs for good forward visibility and high-mounted bumpers, so the plastic is the first thing that gets hit in a tight workspace, not the headlight.
Like its predecessor, the new ProMaster City is a unibody vehicle with a transverse engine up front, sending power to the front wheels. There’s space-saving MacPherson suspension flanking the powertrain, and a trailing-arm style independent setup in the rear. Containing the driveline to the nose means a low, flat floor that, according to Ram, adds up to 167 cubic feet of cargo capacity. The load floor is over nine feet long and can handle stuff like standard 4×8 plywood sheets, pallets, and sheetrock with ease.
The engine is a 1.6-liter inline-four mated to an eight-speed auto, making a respectable 166 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. Nothing mind-blowing, obviously, but enough to get the job done for what these types of vans are used for. All in, Ram says the ProMaster City can handle 2,000 pounds of payload capacity and tow 2,000 pounds. While any mid-size pickup can beat that, you have to remember this isn’t a large vehicle—it’s basically the size of your average passenger minivan. That means it can do all of these things while being able to fit in normal car locations, such as garages.
Despite the van’s age, there’s a bunch of modern tech onboard, including forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, a digital rear-view mirror, a 10-inch digital gauge cluster, and a 10-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The Right Van At The Right Time
The timing for Ram’s ProMaster City revival almost seems scripted. Just last week, I wrote about how demand for minivans is up by 20%, and not just because families and road trip addicts are realizing vans are the best way to get around with a bunch of stuff and people.
I asked Stellantis exactly who it found was buying its vans, and a representative told me that, increasingly, it saw that Pacifica buyers were gig economy workers such as Amazon drivers or GrubHub delivery workers, or construction workers who appreciated the fact that you could fit a sheet of plywood in the rear of the Pacifica.
Realizing the hole in the market left by the midsize segment back in 2023, and seeing the increased demand from people who need a van exactly like this, the company probably realized it could rebadge a van in its overseas fleet and engineer it to work for North American customers without spending too much money on development. The result is a new ProMaster City that happens to be related to that funky eight-passenger Fiat van that shuttled you from the Florence airport to the Tuscan villa on your last vacation to Italy seven years ago. And that’s totally fine! The more vans, the better.
Speaking of shuttling, the new ProMaster can be optioned as a bare-bones cargo carrier or as a passenger vehicle, with either five or eight seats. You can also option windows or blank metal plates in the window sections, depending on your use case. Likewise, there are two trim levels: a base Tradesman model that gets unpainted bumpers, or an SLT trim with painted bumpers, parking sensors, a wireless phone charger, and 17-inch aluminum wheels.
Stellantis plans to build the Ram ProMaster City at the same place where all of the other versions of this van are built, at its assembly plant in Bursa, Türkiye. Despite the shipping costs, the company claims it’s targeting a base price under $40,000, which would make it cheaper than the most basic Pacifica (formerly known as the Voyager). If that does end up being the case, Ram could have a real winner on its hands, especially because it has no direct competitors.
Top graphic image: Ram
It’s the right idea just I know there was a better idea but got shot down by the Europeans again. They should have taken the Voyager line and made a cargo van they could easily be a least price competitive and might bring down some costs with scale. They are stickered too high. They will have to discount at least $10k just like everything else. What so many fleets won’t do is buy a passenger van and turn into to a cargo van. Ford knew that when they were importing the Transit connects from Turkey. The warehouse in Baltimore only function was to rip out interior and fit window plugs. Ironically this van is currently being built in turkey. Same idea I wonder? $40k when they could have right there or cheaper with a platform already in the US market. Part of it might be trade war Canadian labor is more then Turkish labor the tariff is probably the same until it changes. Still doesn’t make a ton of sense other then we like our European van more then this American van so here. They even studied it and found out gig workers took the seats out. Of the vans they were probably picking up under $30k. It’s like blind connect the dots over there in 47 different languages.
“Ram says the ProMaster City can handle 2,000 pounds of payload capacity and tow 2,000 pounds. While any mid-size pickup can beat that…”
True for towing, but there are no US midsize pickups that have a payload capacity as high as 2,000 pounds.
A “Vivaro Furgon L”, with a 2.2 liter 150 HP diesel and an 8 speed automatic transmission (it’s from Aisin, I guess) can be had for about USD 30 000 locally, so the 40k seems a bit to much for me.
And I’m not sure this is the right van instead of the smaller Combo/Partner/Doblo, if the only other van available is the normal Promaster.
Remember, we have tariffs (even though they’re illegal), and Stellantis is in no position to eat that cost. Also, I imagine that you have options for small vans in your market, which means companies have to price competitively. We don’t have that, so Ram can basically name their price.
So it will be the same “build” process as all those other brands and models then :
They build just one type of van, and they are all identical apart from badging and maybe headlights.
Personally I am waiting for the Alfa Romeo and Maserati versions.
Alfa wouldn’t even be unprecedented.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Romeohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Ducato#First (Alfa Romeo AR6)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iveco_Daily#First_generation_(1978) (Alfa Romeo AR8)
Sorry about the broken formatting. That WAS a bulleted list.
Smart idea. My dad works for the local Ford store and a lot of tradesmen were upset that the Transit Connect was discontinued. Very popular in cities, especially San Francisco.
In France one of the options is called “Grip Control” which uses the ABS and direction control electronics to simulate 4 wheel drive in mud, sand or snow.
Basically as soon as one of the front wheels starts spinning it is braked and all power is then with the other and the forward momentum is usually enough to move to a place where the formerly spinning wheel can get traction.
Works great, know someone who uses it to get in and out of vineyards.
But of course in France they are almost all manual and diesel…
Tried to make them electric but range was terrible and they got very heavy, not what you need on muddy work sites.
That just sounds like regular traction control.
Yip. But the software is changed for low speed, getting out of mud, sand or snow…
I’m glad to see this. We used to buy Transit Connects for our fleet, and they were usefully sized, especially the passenger vans. Few people who are our users who need an 8-seater van want to drive a big-ass Transit if they can drive something this size instead.
It’s about time for Ford to bring the Transit Custom which is in the same class as this van.
Or the current Connect which would be on a class of its own
I think the Transit Custom would be great, but only if it was built here. Otherwise it would be so close in price to the Transit that we’d always round up slightly to the big van, and so would most people, I think.
which is pretty much what’s happening with this van. $40K is within 10% of the full size Promaster. One could benefit from better fuel economy and user friendliness in tight spots, but there is not much else to it.
I really want this to succeed, so other players take notice, but I won’t deny it’s an uphill battle.
We know a couple of people with trades businesses and they’ve been lamenting the cost and size of the Transits they’ve been forced to move towards. Ford obviously likes this, their customers, do not.
Stellantis is making a pretty wise move here (shockingly).
$40k makes it about 9% cheaper than the cheapest full-size ProMaster. Unless the buyer really, really wants the smaller footprint, I’m not sure I see the value proposition. But hey, thanks for offering more choices.
True. Maybe they want better fuel economy as well?
No EPA numbers, so I couldn’t be sure. But if you load the City to capacity, you’re gonna have to beat that 1.6 like a rented mule, and I wouldn’t expect that to meet EPA numbers.
True. I might be wrong but the EPA doesn’t test vehicles at max load, just the vehicle with a full tank of gas and driver.
I know for a fact the full size Promaster and Transit can only muster mid 10s unloaded in city.
You would be surprised how many contractors (here in Boston area) would like the smaller form factor. One of my colleagues has a Metris for AV install and loves it. He’s sad that its been discontinued
I wasn’t suggesting otherwise. That’s why “City” is in the name. There’s definitely a market.
I had an original Transit which was great in Boston. I had to drive it to NJ over the GWB. Oof. No Bueno
Because when you think reliability Citroen is the auto manufacturer that first comes to mind.
I bet this would make a cool Westphalia style camper
It’s a shame they went with the largest van available. Stellantis have two classes of van below this; the Berlingo, and the amusingly tiny Ram Promaster Rapid available in Latin America:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewe_AlW2SfA
The Rapid is not even a van, though. I’ve seen those in Mexico and they’re basically a Fiat Uno with a fibreglass panel extension, but there is no pass through like on a van. I doubt it would pass crash testings around here
Me: So you’re a specialist? What make?
Mechanic: Opel, Peugeot, FIAT, Citroën, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Mitsubishi, uhh Hillman?, oh yeah and all the Mopar stuff like Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth and RAM.
Friend of ours brother is a carpenter in Belgium, when he came to Canada he was confused as to why the trades mostly had pickups, he wanted a Sprinter but the van life folks priced them out of hand- ended up with a cube van
I guess a pickup would work almost as well as a van, as long as the weather cooperated. You can fit almost as much cargo as a van, even if it’s not as easy to load or unload.
Um, yeah, I’m with your friend’s brother, vans are just plain better for most tradies, and I’m disappointed in Canada for following their southern neighbour’s habits.
There are a mix but it seems most go for pickups, when I was a glazier I had a van that was what almost all used- side rack for glass and tools inside and a little tiny bench- the increased headroom of todays vans would be great
vive le dajiban
No really though, at least they’re finally going to offer full windows and seats, which weren’t available on the last Promaster City because they were insecure and jealous that it might steal sales from the Pacifica.
They likely knew it had a limited market appeal when their existing minivans were better suited for passenger purposes.
The Grand Caravan was in production much of the same time and was much better for the job for the same price, possibly even less depending on spec. By the end of the City’s run, the Pacifica was a bit more expensive but still more refined, and much more powerful while achieving the same estimated highway mpg.
Really hope they’re better than the last ProMaster. Previous employer took on 2 ProMaster’s for evaluation as a replacement for Ford Transit’s. After 6 months the Fleet Manager was convinced that the ProMaster’s brake pads were made of cardboard and the transmissions internals were made of glass. They were epic heaps of shit.
Should have gone with Ce ci n’est pas un Ram
So what chicken tax loophole is stellantis gonna work? Same sort of “passenger van” with no windows, remove the seats and ship them back that the transit connect did?
That attempted loophole earned Ford a $1 billion fine and killed the Transit Connect.
I expect they will just pay the extra 7.5% vs a passenger car.
possibly CKD kits, like Mercedes does with the Sprinter and also did with the Metris. MB cargo vans are assembled here with imported parts, while passenger vans are imported complete/fully assembled.
Is the chicken tax that much relevant anymore now that pretty much every non-USMCA made vehicle is subject to tariffs? They’ll just pay for it, and the almost negligible price difference with the full size Promaster shows that.
“ In the span of two months, between August and September, all three of those automakers announced they’d be discontinuing their respective midsize commercial vans.”
You’d think the management at Ford, GM, Nissan or Stellantis would see what was going on and think at least one of them would realize that if they kept their small van on sale, they’d have the entire market to themselves without any direct competition.
The fact that none of them did really makes me wonder about the management at these companies and if there is any real long term thinking or planning going on.
Glad to hear that a smaller van is coming back and there’s a glimmer of thinking going on
Now if only if it was put under the correct brand… which would be DODGE.
Ram as a brand is stupid and it ignores Dodge’s long heritage in trucks and vans.
Plus anyone in the tech/IT world thinks of Random Access Memory when reading ‘RAM’.
Ram as a separate brand needs to die.
I think auto manufacturers are becoming the new weatherman. They can be wrong more than they’re right and still have a job the next day.
Ford has proved time and time again that it wants to sell nothing but trucks. GM – well who knows what’s going on there. But they were just selling a rebadged Nissan anyway. Of all of them, you’d think the Promaster City would have made it past the chopping block. But then again, it’s Stellantis, so they’d be trying to sell them for $45k right now and wondering why there are still 2024s on the lot.
Speaking of shuttling, the new ProMaster can be optioned as a bare-bones cargo carrier or as a passenger vehicle, with either five or eight seats.
So… basically Stellantis is introducing another minivan to the market. Hooray! I’m all for this. Sort of the inverse of the old Ram-Van that was first and foremost (in design and sales) a passenger minivan, cargo van second.
Ram Van… hehe hehe
Looking at the website, which as yet has no configurator and only one or two interior photos, it doesn’t look like it is made for the typical minivan buyer. Simple, fairly austere box with seats, same SLT trim level, no refrigerator consoles and vacuums and video screens. It doesn’t mention that the CarPlay/AAuto is wireless, or cupholders and USB jacks. Also no milage estimates there yet, which I think is an important consideration for minivan buyers who anticipate road tripping and not just work around town.
I guess it will show its target better when more info is available.
austere box with seats, just like minivans were 40 years ago. I dig it
People mover minivan. Hotel shuttles, summer camps, church groups. That kind of thing. Not soccer families.
Yep. Or as they might call it in other parts of the world, a “minibus”.
I’ve been in traveling sales for like 13 years now, mostly consumer packaged goods, and the psst 5 years, building materials. My company cars have been small crossovers, except for the current RAM 1500, and, the whole time, I’ve always felt a minivan or small cargo van would be vastly more practical for the kinds of crap I carry and the kind of driving I do, but, it seems like fleet managers either don’t look at them, or automakers aren’t giving the same sorts of volume discounts. I put in for a new vehicle a few months ago, hoping that a Pacifica/Voyager would be on the list, but, no, it was just a 4 cylinder Silverado, a RAM 1500, a different spec RAM 1500, a Hornet, or a couple other small crossovers. Its weird, maybe the new to us ProMaster City (should it be ProPrimary City?) will shake things up a little
Amusingly, just last week the sales rep of one of my vendors dropped by my office in a brand new Tundra. I commented on the truck and he went off about how there are no small cargo vans on the market anymore to replace his clapped-out Transit Connect. I guess his company transitioned from looking at the utility of the vehicles to the residual values of the vehicles, so while he really likes the Tundra, he misses the fuel mileage, the low load floor, ease of access, and ability to carry larger items inside to keep them dry (a big deal here in the PNW winter).
Oh, that reminds me, friend of mine is a regional manager with the Red Cross, and he’s been complaining about his Traverse being replaced with a Tacoma. They claim they feel he needs a more rugged vehicle for some of the areas they operate in, he disagrees and says he really needs a secure weather tight cargo area and a large back seat
Ford still make an AWD Transit. I dunno if they sell it in America tho.
they do
A HORNET?!
Maybe the maintenance department has some guys that need to keep busy so they don’t get laid off.
No, we don’t do any maintenence ourselves, it would just mean that no sales or customer service happen for a few days or however long it takes the dealer to do a repair
(Just took two days for a new brake rotor and caliper on the RAM)
I can’t imagine that it would be any fun at all to tow 2,000 pounds with that miniscule little 4-pot under the bonnet.
And then there’s going to be idiots who try to tow way more than that and wonder why they can’t get any traction on their FWD van and not even noticing that the massive tongue weight is lifting the front of the vehicle.
But hey, it’s bigger brother (the standard ProMaster) is also FWD.
Stop crying.
Anyways, that’s why we use diesel engines in Europe. They do their job perfectly.
Oh how expectations have changed.
My 1987 S-15 Jimmy had a 110 hp / 145 lb-ft V6 mated to a 3 speed auto and was rated to tow 3500 lbs
My 2004 Chevy Astro had a 190 hp / 250 lb-ft engine mated to a 4 speed auto. Rated to tow 6,000 lbs
BoF construction makes a huge difference as does RWD.
Europeans tow with unibody FWD vans every day – they tow fine.
So did my US spec 91 Caravan that made less HP than this van and had 1/2 the gears.
it’s got enough torque. It will do fine with 2000 lbs
2000 lbs is barely anything. The old Jetta SportWagon was rated for that.
It’ll fit right in at Dodge, then.
if this one is old at 10 yrs old, then the full size Promaster is a dinosaur at twice that age. Van’s lifecycles are measured in decades, right GMT610 twins?
Not to mention that Ford STILL sells cutaway and bare chassis Econolines. They even facelifted them! (Ok, it’s just a new plastic grill, everything else is the same, but still!)
yes, not to mention Godzilla powahh!
Who knew it would be Year of the Van? Gotta swap out my rad fire horse t shirts for rad previa t shirts.
I only have one Hot Wheels car in my office… and its a 1985 JDM “Toyota Van” which was also sold as the Previa. Wise choice my friend.
$40K sounds a bit much for a stripped out four cylinder cargo van. If they discount these at the dealer from list, it may be more reasonable.
I guess that’s Stellantis being Stellantis. Filling a market hole it helped create.
At least they’re actually doing something about it this time