Few modern vehicles practically sing “USA! USA!” as aggressive as a full size pickup truck. Even America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150, is only sold in a few places outside of the good old United States – so officially. This is due to the higher fuel costs, the smaller roads and the higher tax rates in other countries. The reality is that the full size truck template just won’t result in volume sales in most markets.
This doesn’t mean those across the pond can’t import a full-size truck to their shoreline if they really want one. While Ford may not want to cannibalize its popular Ranger’s sales in overseas markets, other automakers don’t have pickups this small to protect sales of. No wonder, then, that there was brisk business with the import of another full-size pickup light to Europe: the Ram 1500. Thanks to partnerships with local outlets, sales of Dodge and Ram in Europe rose by almost 50 percent in 2020.
What’s it like importing a full-size pickup truck from its American stronghold to countries where the Ram 1500 and Chevy Silverados are more exotic than Ferraris and Lamborghinis? And why are Europeans so interested in navigating these giant land barges through some of the oldest and narrowest streets in the world?
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Full size imagination
It would be wrong to believe that the citizens of Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and other European countries live in a kind of truck-empty void. There are many smaller pickups and pickup-like SUVs for sale in these countries, but those deals come from a far more useful side of the spectrum. Forget the leather-lined luxury cruisers found on US dealer lots, as these midsize models gravitate toward the basic with limited amenities, easy-to-clean interiors, and humble turbodiesels that bypass registration costs and offer ample torque.
Attempts to spruce up these medium-sized models usually met with indifference (witness to the failure of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class). These smaller trucks occupy an important part of the landscape, but their attraction has traditionally been to commercial workhorses rather than daily drivers. European truck owners also do not specifically use their rigs for towing, as wagons, hatchbacks and compact SUVs are far more commonly used for hauling utility vehicles and caravans.
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While some contractors appreciate US metal for its increased loading capacity and high towing capacity, the love of brutally large import pickups is usually not due to need, but rather to desire. American trucks are valued for their sassy personalities, exaggerated skills, and perceived luxury. These factors have been rejected by mainstream European buyers in their own market, but deep-thinking free thinkers are willing to pay a sizable premium for them. This doesn’t just include the initial purchase price as owners pay thousands of different taxes and registration fees each year caused by the massive shadows and big engines of their imported pickups (the latter also causes some expensive fuel bills).
Euro Spec
The actual purchase of a Ram 1500 overseas begins with a visit to an official importer. For Stellantis, this is AEC Europe, which also covers imports of the Dodge Challenger Coupé, the Charger Sedan and the Durango SUV. With 400 sales locations, AEC claims to cover every country in the European Union. It has entered into a partnership with Stellantis (formerly FCA) since 2011.
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The company’s role goes beyond what you would normally expect from an imported outfit in America. Not only does AEC convert every vehicle it sells to European standards (including lighting, emissions, country-specific weight restrictions, and other safety concerns), it also offers a replacement warranty (through a third party, CarGarantie) that fills the void due to invalid factory coverage of the export of the vehicle.
For the most part, it’s a plug-and-play process for buyers who don’t need to do any additional inspections or conversions from their respective license offices once they pick up their ram. However, if you want a custom order, you’ll have to wait: AEC is ready to work with buyers on custom options and equipment. However, this can be a slow process compared to simply selecting one of the already imported and stored models.
While ram trucks have proven to be the most popular full-size pickup truck to import into Europe (thanks in large part to AEC’s range), this is certainly not the only option available. Smaller operations such as AMT American Trucks offer a full range of trucks from American sources for import, including Ford, Chevrolet, and GMC models. AMT American Trucks is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, but will deliver vehicles that are homologated to meet the specific requirements of several European countries.
AMT American Trucks also offers a service that can help reduce an owner’s registration burden by increasing the gross vehicle weight of certain models so that the large American pickup can qualify as a utility vehicle (this comes with specific tax breaks in some countries ). The company will even add or remove seats if necessary to flirt with the law text for buyers looking to lessen the financial impact of owning one of these massive models.
Drive to be different
Full-size truck sales still make up a small percentage of total new vehicle sales in Europe. This makes sense as these large trucks were never really designed to navigate the narrow streets of Europe.
Even so, the heart wants what the heart wants. Just as thousands of Americans crave impractical JDM vans and right-hand drive kei cars, many Europeans simply want to drive something that is outside of their continent’s norms. At least if a full-size European truck buyer cannot find a parking space, they can always just drive off the beaten path and build their own parking space. Try this in an Autozam AZ-1.