By Drew Johnson

Chrysler’s highly-anticipated 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel will finally begin production this month, with sales of the diesel-powered light-duty pickup truck scheduled to begin in February.

The 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel was originally slated to hit the market during the third quarter of 2013, but the entire project was delayed for unspecified reasons. However, all of the kinks look to have been worked out as a person familiar with the plans revealed to Automotive News that the truck will begin rolling off the assembly line on January 21.

Ram has yet to officially comment on the start of production.

The initial batch of diesel-powered Rams will reportedly be pre-spec versions, which are units not ordered by dealers. After that first 1,000 unit production run, dealers will begin taking customer orders in February.

The 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is set to be powered by 3.0L turbo diesel sourced from Fiat-owned VM Motori. The V6 churns out 240 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque and promises to deliver up to 28mpg on the highway. The diesel option will tack on $2,850 to the cost of a comparably equipped truck with Ram’s 5.7L gas V8.

Photos by Nat Shirley.

Courtesy: LeftLane