Stellantis brings back the HEMI V8 gasoline engine and receives more than 10,000 orders in a single day.

Few could have imagined the strategic error committed by Carlos Tavares, the former CEO of the Stellantis Group and parent company of the American brands Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and RAM (among others), when he announced that he would retire the most polluting gasoline engines in order to invest in electric cars worldwide, including in the United States. That decision meant the retirement of the legendary HEMI V8 engine, a propulsion system that dates back to the mid-20th century and had become one of the cultural and social icons of the United States. The results were negative and immediate: sales of the group's brands fell dramatically in the United States, especially in the largest and most affordable car segments, precisely those that allow for the highest profit margins and have the greatest impact on the group's profits.

The North American market is very different from the European market, as its specific characteristics (very cheap fuel, extensive highways, and cities designed for driving) mean that the best-selling models year after year continue to be the pickup trucks from Ford, General Motors, and RAM. The dismissal of Carlos Tavares and the appointment of Antonio Filosa as CEO of Stellantis has led, among other things, to the revival of HEMI V8 engines, for the time being reserved for RAM models and the Jeep pickup.

The new commercial director of the group's American brands, Tim Kuniskis, already announced a few months ago that "everyone makes mistakes" and that "you have to learn," referring to the electrification plan of the group's American brands and the withdrawal of the large gasoline engines that characterize American models. This week, the RAM brand announced that it was bringing back the HEMI V8 engine for its flagship RAM 1500 pickup truck, and has received more than 10,000 reservations for the model in just 24 hours.

The HEMI V8 engine is a 5.7-liter, eight-cylinder monster with 395 hp and 556 Nm of torque that consumes an average of 16 liters per 100 kilometers, an unthinkable figure for European buyers, but one that doesn't seem to scare off American pickup truck customers. In any case, the HEMI V8 engine also couldn't pass the new European environmental restrictions, and in fact, in the United States, this engine must be accompanied by a 48V micro-hybrid system to be homologated with the emissions figures in force in the United States. The decision to recover this engine is based on the sales figures of pickups with similar engines from Ford and Chevrolet (General Motors), which remain at more than 800,000 units per year.

The strong reception of the HEMI V8 engine in the United States could lead the US sales division led by Kuniskis to consider bringing back that engine for Dodge models and Jeep SUVs, contradicting the work and strategic decisions Stellantis has implemented in recent years. The fact is that the polluting emissions and sustainability of new cars are not, as yet, a priority that could influence the purchasing decisions of American drivers, especially in the inland and southern states of the country, where pickup trucks and large-displacement engines are a cultural hallmark.