INDIANAPOLIS—“They’re in every country just about, but ours,” a FleetOwner reader said in a voice mail to our office last year. “Why don’t we have options to be able to buy them here?”
This reader was talking about small cargo vans. It wasn’t too long ago that nearly every OEM with a presence in the U.S. made them. Ford had the Transit Connect. Nissan had the NV200. Ram had the ProMaster City. Mercedes had the Metris. Chevrolet had a small cargo van—albeit made by Nissan—the Chevy City Express, for a few years. But by 2023, they all vanished. Until today.
Dear FleetOwner reader, Ram Trucks has granted your wishes. By this time next year, if your heart desires a small cargo van, it can be in your possession, as Ram announced that sales for the resurrected Ram ProMaster City will begin in Q1 2027.
Ram Trucks debuted the revived 2027 Ram ProMaster City here at Work Truck Week 2026.
Ahead of WTW, Ram gave select automotive and commercial vehicle journalists a sneak peek at the new van. During the sneak peek, Dave Sowers, director of Ram Professional operations, said the ProMaster City eliminates compromises small cargo van customers previously had to make when the OEMs abandoned the segment.
"At its peak, there were five OEMs playing in this space. They all left, including us. So that left a lot of these customers out in the cold with unmet needs," Sowers said. Compromises included "customers moving up into the large van space. This was overkill. … Another compromise people were making is buying, for example, other segments, like small or midsized trucks… Those compromises meant sub-optimal performance for those commercial customers."
Here’s how Ram Trucks expects to meet the needs of work van customers that require a vehicle with a smaller footprint:
New Ram ProMaster City specs
The new Ram ProMaster City features the turbocharged 1.L I‑4 engine, which offers 166 hp and 221 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine is paired with an 8‑speed automatic transmission. Built for work, the vehicle can tow 2,000 lb. and offers a payload of 2,000 lb.
With its 77-in. height, the vehicle fits in most garages, yet it doesn’t sacrifice cargo space. The ProMaster City accommodates cargo space of 167 cu. ft. of volume, 111-in. floor length, and a 48-in. floor width between the wheel wells. Ram advertises that this allows space for two U.S. standard-sized pallets. To access those pallets or any other cargo, the van’s back doors open 180 degrees. A rear liftgate is also available. The side sliding door is 37-in. wide and 49-in. tall.
The ProMaster City is available in multiple configurations because “our customers have a lot of varying needs,” Matt Huber, Ram product SVP, said. Buyers can choose a cargo van option with just a driver’s seat and a front passenger seat; a crew configuration that offers seating for five; and a passenger van option with seating for eight. The ProMaster City is also available with traditional windows around the vehicle, blacked-out panels, or grate-covered windows.
The ProMaster City comes in two different trims: the Tradesman and the SLT. While the Tradesman is Ram’s most basic package suitable for the fleet space, the ProMaster City comes standard with multiple safety features. These include:
- Forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking
- Automatic headlamps with LED daytime running lamps and automatic high-beams
- Digital rearview mirror
- Driver Attention Alert
- Exterior temperature alert with ice warning
- Hill-Start Assist
- ParkView rear backup camera
- ParkSense rear parking sensors
- Programmable speed limiter