With the dismantling of previous electric vehicle (EV) plans, the sales/regulations are changing automakers and how they go about EVs. While Ford and GM remain stable, Stellantis is struggling.
Stellantis, the car brand most affected by the EV rollbacks will see the most changes. In March 2022, Stellantis announced a new engine being developed, known as the “Hurricane.” This engine is a 3-litre inline 6 twin turbo, which would officially take the place of the “HEMI” family of V8s in the Ram trucks and Jeeps. Unknown to the public, however, this engine was also offered in the new Dodge charger, announced as EV only in 2021. This slowly revealed that Stellantis is still invested in ICE vehicles, with news about the next-generation Ram HD trucks furthering this claim. January 7th, 2025 saw the release of new Heavy-duty pickups, with the supposed-to-be discontinued 6.4 litre Hemi as an engine option. This really changed the brand’s future, with hopes of seeing this Hemi family of engines return in more vehicles. Not surprisingly, on December 20th, 2024, Dodge extended the Durango (supposed to be discontinued) into the 2025 model year. This comeback would also see the 5.7/6.2 litre Hemi return, being even more surprising than the trucks.
Changes were also seen in management, with Stellantis’ CEO Carlos Tavares quickly resigning on December 2nd. On December 9th, it was announced that formerly retired Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis would return, this time as Ram CEO. Finally, Dodge saw a new CEO, Matt Mcalear. This was good news because even more changes/ideas would be announced, strongly hinting at the full return of the previously mentioned V8 engine family. Mcalear made a statement on February 17th, saying “V8 is no longer a bad word around the company.” Dodge spent years positioning the future around electrification, but now a V8 comeback seems to be on the table. It raises a bigger question—if the Charger Daytona isn’t Dodge’s ultimate halo car, what is? This strongly hints at upcoming plans, with Kuniskis stepping out against former Stellantis CEO with the message, “Whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s anti-American, you’ve taken my flag away, f*** you. It doesn’t mean they are making an irrational decision, maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, I don’t know. But we as Americans, that’s what we do.”
All of these changes prove that Stellantis is not on track with the all EV plans they have currently mentioned. From here it is not confirmed what engines or cars will return, but right now the future of Stellantis looks gas-powered.
