RHO Level 0 Discussion

[AnthonyRI]

Ok…this is a long one, but I promise it will be worth it for L0 pre-order “victims”.

Caveat: This is solely my opinion based on observation, facts and some realistic assumptions. But, I’ve got a pretty good track record on this stuff.

Oberservation: Yesterday, I visited my local Ram dealer to see my 1st RHO in the flesh. It was an ordered L1 truck that was passed over by the original buyer as he did not care for the color (uh-huh). During my visit, at least a half dozen enthusiasts admired the truck and made positive comments. One asked if it was for sale. The answer was “We have a buyer making a deal with two individuals on stand-by if that buyer passes.” It was sold before I left.

Fact: Stellantis just had a disasterous earning call. Something like a 48% drop in profitability. Do you think they want to improve their profitability? Absolutely! Does an L1 RHO represent more revenue & profit to Stellantis? Very likely.

Fact: The vast majority of pre-orders have been L1. I would make an educated guess they have at least 2,000 L1 pre-orders waiting to be built or shipped. If an L1 buyer drops out, are they worried about selling that truck? Based on my previous observation, no.

Current discussion: Ram has told a dealer that L0 orders will be delayed, but no ETA or specific reason provided. Hmmmm…

Conclusion: Until Ram has a significant number of unsold L1 RHOs on the ground, L0 will remain an enigma. Let’s face it…if Ram was your business, would you waste time building a less profitable “L0 widget”, when you have a waiting list for your more profitable “L1 widget”?

How long will this take? 3 months, 6 months, 12 months? IDK. And, will Ram likely increase the price at some point in the future? Absolutely.

So, if you can wait an indefinite amount of time & you work too hard for your $$ to spend another $10K for stuff you don’t care about, wait it out & hold on to your pre-order pricing. Just keep in mind, if they don’t build any until 2026 model year (I sure hope that is not the case), you will likely be subject to 2026 L0 pricing.

Lets assume 3K RHO orders in the system currently (it's likely less, as it was under 2700 at the beginning of the month).
Mark Dodge has about 12% L0, but lets assume that nationally maybe it's 15%.
That makes 450 vehicles at stake IF they were all destined to be built rather quickly aside form their inherent flaw.

Assuming the limiting factor is the raw # of how many RHO's they can invoice between now and year-end, then the delta in revenue on those 450 trucks is $4.5M (saying that they are choosing to build 450 L1s instead of 450 L0s, at $10K difference per truck)

Now, with any manufactured good, we know that $4.5M in sales isn't the same as $4.5M in profit.
It's less than 10% profit, so lets say $500K profit at stake?
Doesn't even hit their radar.


So I don't think it's this very small % of money-grab that would make them hold back L0s.
Still they won't tell me WHAT it is.

 

[NEBOYSA]

Lets assume 3K RHO orders in the system currently (it's likely less, as it was under 2700 at the beginning of the month).
Mark Dodge has about 12% L0, but lets assume that nationally maybe it's 15%.
That makes 450 vehicles at stake IF they were all destined to be built rather quickly aside form their inherent flaw.

Assuming the limiting factor is the raw # of how many RHO's they can invoice between now and year-end, then the delta in revenue on those 450 trucks is $4.5M (saying that they are choosing to build 450 L1s instead of 450 L0s, at $10K difference per truck)

Now, with any manufactured good, we know that $4.5M in sales isn't the same as $4.5M in profit.
It's less than 10% profit, so lets say $500K profit at stake?
Doesn't even hit their radar.


So I don't think it's this very small % of money-grab that would make them hold back L0s.
Still they won't tell me WHAT it is.

Exactly what I was thinking.

My brother who runs one of the dealers in Big city is more worried why they have less than 10 work trucks for end of year than our rho orders

 

[bwstone92]

My L0 with zero options confirmed, ordered about a month ago…

 

[GregM]

View attachment 1261
My L0 with zero options confirmed, ordered about a month ago…

Nice! My L0 finally showed up on the tracker as confirmed this morning too. Ordered 10/30. Progress…I’ll take it.

 

[RHOfan]

Can anyone tell me if L0 includes the surround view camera, or is that L1 only?

 

[AnthonyRI]

Can anyone tell me if L0 includes the surround view camera, or is that L1 only?

CATEGORY	LEVEL ONE ENHANCEMENTS OVER STANDARD
Entertainment / Tech	14.4" uconnect over 12"
Entertainment / Tech	19 Speaker system over 9
Entertainment / Tech	front passenger display
Entertainment / Tech	massaging driver/pass seats
Safety	surround view camera
Safety	traffic sign recognition
Safety	drowsy driver detection
Safety	evasive steer assist
Safety	hands free active driving assist
Safety	heads up display
Safety	rain sensitive wipers
Safey	intersection collision assist
Safety	Digital Rear view Mirror
Comfort/convenience	dual wireless charging over single
Comfort/convenience	Reclining Heated Rear seats
Comfort/convenience	smartphone as key capable
Comfort/convenience	ventilated front & rear seats
Comfort/convenience	Memory mirrors, pedals, radio, driver seat
Finish	Wrapped Driver/pass assist handles
Finish	upgraded floor console
Finish	leather/carbon steering wheel
Finish	Luxury Front door trim panel
Finish	carbon interior accents
utility	LED CHMSL
Utility	power tailgate
Utlity	12-Way Trailer connect over 7 pin
Utlity	240 Alternator over 230 standard

 

[DCook]

Can anyone tell me if L0 includes the surround view camera, or is that L1 only?

L1

 

[RHOfan]

Thanks for the quick response.

After a quick test drive of an RHO around a dealership lot, I must say the RHO is WIDE! And, maneuvering in tight spaces…well, the surround view was super nice!

And, the 14” screen has super sharp resolution. I can’t compare it to the 12” from a resolution perspective, but the increased size is not effectively used. It’s a vertical screen configured into two landscape displays, which are individually quite small…the extra inches appear at the bottom where some buttons have been replaced by “virtual buttons”.

Overall, I didn’t see the $10K value in L1 for my use, but the carbon bits were nice, the heads up display is functional (not something you can say for every vehicle with this feature), and the surround view function will prove helpful to those who make the jump.

 

[Silver RHO]

I’ll say progress when one says “in production” that’s the only thing that’s stood true so far.

 

[GregM]

Thanks for the quick response.

After a quick test drive of an RHO around a dealership lot, I must say the RHO is WIDE! And, maneuvering in tight spaces…well, the surround view was super nice!

And, the 14” screen has super sharp resolution. I can’t compare it to the 12” from a resolution perspective, but the increased size is not effectively used. It’s a vertical screen configured into two landscape displays, which are individually quite small…the extra inches appear at the bottom where some buttons have been replaced by “virtual buttons”.

Overall, I didn’t see the $10K value in L1 for my use, but the carbon bits were nice, the heads up display is functional (not something you can say for every vehicle with this feature), and the surround view function will prove helpful to those who make the jump.

Surround view and rain sensing wipers (lots of rain in the PNW) was all I would want from the L1 group and couldn't 't justify the 10K for it. Base will still be optioned just as nice or nicer than my current fully loaded Rebel.