by Return of Hemi engine to Ram 1500 proved successful
Last month, Ram officially announced the return of the legendary 5.7-liter Hemi V8 to the 1500 model line. The company’s CEO Tim Kuniskis openly admitted that the decision to remove this engine earlier was a mistake.
“We messed up when we moved away from Hemi”
– he stated.
Customer reaction exceeded all expectations. Head of Stellantis sales in North America Jeff Kommor reported that over 10,000 orders were received in the first 24 hours after the announcement. For comparison, in the entire second quarter, Ram sold 51,848 light pickup trucks.
Technical details
The 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is offered as a $1200 option for most versions of the pickup. Although its specifications are inferior to the new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder Hurricane engine (420 hp), customers clearly prefer the classic V8 architecture.
As Kuniskis explained, many Ram customers are true fans of eight-cylinder engines. Losing this audience could have led to customers switching to competitors – Ford and General Motors. The demand for the Hemi V8 convincingly proved that the decision to bring this engine back was correct, although the company warns of possible temporary supply difficulties due to high demand.
This situation clearly demonstrates how important the traditional approach to car manufacturing remains for some market segments, despite the general trend towards downsizing and turbocharging engines. The success of the Hemi V8 indicates that manufacturers should pay more attention to the wishes of their audience, even if they contradict general trends.
