It wasn’t that long ago, under different management, that Stellantis was ready to sunset the iconic Hemi V8, which launched in 1951 under the “FirePower” name and went on to motorsports fame and muscle car glory. When battery-electric vehicles were all the rage several years ago, it appeared the Hemi was running out of gas, with one of the automaker’s most treasured nameplates – the Charger – going without V8 power for the first time in decades.
Two versions of the clean-sheet 3.0-liter Hurricane inline six-cylinder entered the market four years ago as ostensible replacements, and on paper they stacked up well to the Hemi.
Hurricane six-cylinder engine in a studioStellantis
But while a replacement was found for former CEO Carlos Tavares, there is no replacement for displacement, and it was only a matter of time before Ram, Jeep, and Dodge loyalists could rekindle their love affair with eight cylinders of hemispherical combustion. It’s probably fair to surmise that Stellantis’ incoming CEO, Antonio Filosa, coaxed Tim Kuniskis to cut short his seven-month retirement in December 2024 with certain assurances that the Hemi would come back.
Investor Day Tim KuniskisStellantis
Still Restoring Hemi Supply Chain In Mexico
Since then, Kuniskis, who oversees the North American brands for Stellantis while serving as Ram CEO, has devoted a fair amount of time to restoring capacity to build more Hemi engines for Ram, Jeep, and Dodge – only Chrysler, which is expected to become an affordable mass-market brand, will miss out on the V8 love. It hasn’t been easy to bring back the Hemi, based on his comments to CarBuzz and other media outlets at the end of last week’s Stellantis Investor Day gathering in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
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When asked whether Stellantis has been able to produce enough Hemi V8s to meet demand since restarting production less than a year ago, Kuniskis admitted the company “screwed up” when it shut down Hemi production in Saltillo, Mexico, in 2024 and transitioned that capacity to Hurricane six-cylinder production.
“So when we decided to bring it back, there was no assembly line,” Kuniskis said. “The suppliers had all been turned off and parts weren’t available.” The challenge was getting suppliers to resurrect the engine component production lines, in addition to reviving the Hemi assembly line in Saltillo using only part of the plant.
“And so now we need to grow that, probably another 100,000 units, ish. The good news is we’re at a point now where we’re at about a 40 percent mix of Hemi to everything else.”
–Tim Kuniskis, NA Brand Chief For Stellantis
That means a whopping 40 percent of Stellantis light-duty vehicles sold in the US now are Hemi-powered, which is remarkable considering the sun was setting just two years ago. It helps that the automaker’s engine plant in Dundee, Michigan, was quickly retooled to also produce Hemi engines beginning last August.
Still, Kuniskis knows there will be complications ahead and difficulty meeting Hemi demand, and the “mix is going to be screwed up” before supply starts approaching anticipated demand. “Eventually, over the next six, seven months, we should be able to get the production back up” to about 100,000 units above current levels, he said.
Dodge Challenger SRT 392 6.4L Hemi V8 EngineWikipedia
No Dodge Gas Guzzler Tax, For Now
With fuel prices cresting $6 per gallon in parts of the US, how much demand can there really be for a big V8 that gets even more thirsty with forced induction? Gas guzzler taxes only apply to passenger cars, like certain Ford Mustangs and Chevy Corvettes, but not to pickups or SUVs, which is good news for Ram and Jeep shoppers who want all the power they can get. The US EPA’s fuel-economy website confirms that no Stellantis vehicles in the US currently face gas guzzler taxes, but the upcoming Dodge Charger SRT and Copperhead SRT, both anticipated to carry Hemi power, might change that.
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The FaSTLAne 2030 product plan announced last week includes lots of Hemi burble in other upcoming vehicles, such as SRT versions of the Ram 1500 and Ramcharger SUV, Dodge Durango, and Jeep Wrangler Scrambler and Grand Wagoneer. During his media Q&A at the end of Investor Day, Filosa said that restoring Hemi availability – in less than one year – is part of the automaker’s “freedom of choice” multiple-powertrain strategy, now that the Trump administration has relaxed emissions targets. He said 40 percent of pickup truck buyers won’t even consider a specific brand if a V8 is not available.
Source: Stellantis
