Tavares Killed The HEMI

Mopar Insiders is reporting the following:

"The shift away from the HEMI was part of a broader cost-cutting strategy under Tavares’ Dare Forward 2030 plan (100% of sales in Europe and 50% of sales in the U.S. to be EVs by the end of this decade).

“Everybody wanted to keep the HEMI,” said one source close to Stellantis’ North American operations. “Engineers, marketers, and even executives in the U.S. knew how important it was for our customers. But Tavares didn’t want to hear it. He was fixated on cutting emissions and improving margins.”

Sources claim that a plan dating back to 2019 was a balanced evolution: gradually replacing the aging 5.7-liter and 6.4-liter naturally aspirated HEMI engines with the new twin-turbocharged Hurricane I6 engines while retaining the supercharged HEMI V8 for high-performance models. The HEMI V8, particularly in its supercharged HELLCAT and HELLCAT Redeye configurations, was central to the identity of vehicles like the Dodge Challenger, Charger, Durango, and Jeep® Grand Cherokee.

Despite their popularity, Tavares reportedly saw the engines as a financial and regulatory burden, prioritizing electrification and more fuel-efficient powertrains, such as the twin-turbocharged Hurricane I6.

Stellantis Wanted to Keep the HEMI® V8—But Tavares Said No - MoparInsiders

 

I see the resemblance!

 

Read this:

From Buck Throckmorton at The Blaze:

The auto giant faces a leadership void after disastrous EV policies gutted its market share.

The destructive tenure of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has come to an abrupt but welcome end. Tavares, who had led the auto manufacturer since the 2021 merger that unified brands such as Fiat, Dodge, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroën, and Alfa Romeo, leaves a company grappling with severe challenges. Stellantis faces a sales slump, inventory surpluses, widespread layoffs, labor unrest, a dealer backlash, and a troubled push toward electric vehicles — all symptoms of a deepening crisis.
Just 10 months ago, Stellantis announced a $39 million compensation package for Tavares, making him the highest-paid auto executive in the world. This marked a 56% increase from his previous earnings. When questioned about his pay, Tavares told reporters, “Ninety percent of my salary is determined by the results of the company, so this proves that the company's results are apparently not too bad.”
U.S. auto dealers, angered by the company’s struggles, have directly linked its crisis to Tavares’ shoddy leadership. They accuse him of making short-sighted decisions that inflicted long-term damage on the company while ensuring significant financial gains for himself in the short term.
Under Tavares’ leadership, Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep dealers in the United States have struggled with an overwhelming surplus of unsold inventory. Dealers have criticized the inventory as overpriced compared to competitors, compounded by a stale lineup with new models still years away. The company discontinued popular gasoline-powered vehicles, leaving gaps in the product lineup. Rather than lowering prices or offering incentives to clear dealer lots, Stellantis chose to cut production and lay off employees, worsening the situation.
The company’s third-quarter financial results this year were disastrous, marking a near-unprecedented decline outside of an economic crisis or major disaster. Global vehicle sales dropped 20% compared to the same period in 2023 while U.S. sales fell 36%, plummeting from 470,000 units to fewer than 300,000. Revenue plunged 27% year over year. In response, Stellantis slashed production, delivering 170,000 fewer units to dealers yet failing to resolve the glut of aging inventory still clogging dealer lots.

The EV bubble bursts

Stellantis’ third-quarter sales collapse this year is even more striking when compared to the second quarter. Revenue in Q3 fell to $36 billion, a sharp 23% decline from the $47 billion reported in Q2. Sales effectively collapsed during the summer, signaling a rapid downturn for the automaker.
One key factor behind Stellantis’ limited and outdated product lineup was Tavares’ unwavering commitment to an electric vehicle future. Several high-volume, gasoline-powered models were discontinued to make way for electric replacements that are still years away.
For example, the Chrysler 300 was phased out with plans for an electric successor in 2026, leaving dealers without a comparable product to sell in the interim. Similarly, the Dodge Charger and Challenger were discontinued in 2023 to make room for a future electric Charger, further shrinking the lineup. With the EV transition faltering, dealers now face an uncertain future and a glaring lack of viable products.
Amid this upheaval, Stellantis maintained luxury car pricing, all while working to slash labor costs by shifting production and labor costs to low-wage workers outside of Europe and the United States. There have been near constant announcements of layoffs in the past year, including that of 400 engineers at Stellantis’ U.S. headquarters who were let go and replaced by engineers in Brazil and Mexico at dramatically lower salaries.
As Europe’s electric vehicle bubble burst and consumers increasingly rejected EVs, especially with the decline of government incentives, Stellantis dealers called for relief from the strict EV mandates imposed on the industry. But Tavares refused to intervene.
In fact, Tavares took the opposite approach. While other automakers, including Volkswagen and Renault, urged European regulators to relax emissions mandates meant to drive the EV transition, Tavares redoubled Stellantis’ commitment to the unobtainable goals.
“Electrification is a high-cost transition, and only those with the financial strength and vision to adapt quickly will survive in this environment,” he said, signaling his belief that the company could outlast its competitors.
With Carlos Tavares unwilling to fight for Stellantis as the EV bubble burst, its European dealers were forced to take matters into their own hands. They appealed directly to the European Commission for relief from the impending 2025 emissions restrictions.

Dealers revolt, shareholders suffer

Meanwhile, in the United States, Stellantis’ National Dealer Council released a scathing open letter to Tavares just weeks earlier. The letter aimed to “sound an alarm” to investors, employees, and Stellantis board members about the CEO’s “reckless short-term decision making.” The council accused Tavares of causing the “rapid degradation” of the Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, and Jeep brands and overseeing a significant collapse in market share.

 

Senator-elect Bernie Moreno (Ohio) is calling for the return of American ownership of Chrysler.


“They’ve been a terrible steward of the brands,” Moreno said to Bloomberg. “I’m hoping that John Elkann does the right thing and spins off Chrysler Corporation and puts its back in American ownership.” He had choice words for now-former CEO Carlos Tavares too: “This guy fired all the Americans. He’s been milking this company to death.” Moreno also believes Stellantis is going to shift production from the USA to other nations.


Senator-Elect Pushes Stellantis To Return US Brands To American Ownership | Carscoops