Former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares reportedly killed the Hemi V8 in several vehicles, over external and internal protests not to do it.
We Americans love, love, love our V8s — that shouldn’t be news to most folks, and particularly those trying to make headway in the U.S. auto industry. Nevertheless, a CNBC report lays the blame for Stellantis’ recent troubles squarely at the feet of now-ex-CEO Carlos Tavares for mismanaging the company’s long-term goals against short-term profits and aggressive cost-cutting. On top of that, according to insiders, he also failed to understand the North American market in general, and did not heed warnings from U.S. executives on the ultimate decision to phase out the iconic Hemi V8 from the company’s portfolio, one model at a time.
“If you don’t know the market, you don’t know the customers, you can’t make the right decisions,” one person told CNBC. Sounds blindingly obvious in hindsight, but issues of Tavares’ laser focus on cost-cutting and a dramatic dismissal of U.S. management’s opinions seemingly festered since Stellantis’ formation in 2021, from the merger of Peugeot Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. While he was hailed for his efforts to turn around PSA Groupe and GM’s former Opel and Vauxhall brands, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said all was not well behind the scenes.
One of the largest points of contention, according to those sources, was the relentless effort to prioritize electric vehicles over launching new gas-powered products into the lineup.
“Everybody wanted to keep the Hemi”, one person said. “But it was, ‘you need to be greener'”, and executives reportedly felt their hands were tied on what to do, as the company faced problems on multiple fronts, including a bloated inventory of vehicles at high MSRPs that dealers have been unable to move without massive discounts. All the while, despite killing off the Hemi in all but a few select products, Stellantis is still working on getting its EVs to market en masse, undercutting Tavares’ hedging toward the bet that a strong EV portfolio would see the company forward to a successful and profitable future. Right now, the only electric car under the Stellantis umbrella you can readily buy is the Fiat 500e, while the Jeep Wagoner S and Dodge Charger Daytona are only just starting to hit the market. Other models like the Ram 1500 REV have been pushed back into 2025.
And then comes the twist…Tim Kuniskis returns
While insider sources are clarifying the issues between Tavares, upper management and investors — the company’s stock value tumbled more than 40% this year prior to his departure — the company’s overt actions since he left the company also lends perspective into a possible culture shift. At this moment, it is far too early to tell with any certainty what Stellantis’ future prospects will be, but the automaker did bring back veteran Tim Kuniskis, who retired back in the summer. He oversaw the launch of the Hellcat program and its proliferation across several brands including Dodge, Jeep and Ram.
Now, Kuniskis is technically back at the helm of Ram as that brand’s new CEO. He will not be head of the Dodge brand, which is now under Matt McAlear after Kuniskis left the company in June, before his surprise return. One burning question that comes with his return, especially considering his tenure with massive and powerful V8s, is whether we’ll see a return of sorts of the Hemi the market wants (certainly a vocal group of enthusiasts, at least), rather than a hard pivot toward EVs.
Some may hope and plead for that to happen, but of course it’s still not entirely up to Kuniskis or whatever shift he brings in the management style at Ram directly, or a broader change across other brands as well. Right now, Stellantis is under the leadership of an interim executive committee, led by chairman John Elkann, as it searches for a CEO to replace Tavares. Clearly, the state of affairs won’t be “steady as she goes”, but it’s unlikely we’ll see former V8 legends like the Challenger make a return, or certain vehicles like the new Dodge Charger suddenly go back to offering V8s.
On the truck side, considering Kuniskis is specifically in charge at Ram, it certainly is more of an open question. The brand currently offers one V8 engine across its lineup: the 6.4-liter/392 “Big Hemi” in the Ram HD trucks, including the iconic Power Wagon. Ram dropped its former V8 options for the redesign of its 1500-series half-ton trucks, leaving a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six in their wake. I don’t think Ram would relaunch a Hemi option for trucks that no longer have that powertrain available, but it may stick around where it is still offered, and the company’s crate engine options may well stick around for a good while yet.
