It has been no secret that times are tough at Stellantis. Sales are down across its family of brands and new products have seen a seemingly endless cycle of delays. Case-in-point is the 2025 RAM Heavy Duty lineup, which we have yet to receive any meaningful announcements about.
Beginning with the recent sudden resignation of Stellantis global CEO Carlos Tavares, the company has seen a wave of shakeups across its family of brands, the latest of these being the unexpected return of Tim Kuniskis—the godfather of the iconic Hellcat V8—to lead the RAM brand.
With 32 years of service under his belt, Tim Kuniskis is a bit of a legend within the company. His first stint at the helm of Dodge came in 2011, five years after the Charger’s revival. Kuniskis worked diligently to steer the brand toward its legendary muscle car roots. It wasn’t long until the fruits of his labors manifested in full with the debut of the 707-hp 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. This innovation led the way for not only the Charger Hellcat and more powerful versions of the Challenger and Charger such as the Redeye, Widebody, and Demon, but also the 702-hp Ram TRX, Dodge Durango Hellcat, and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.
In 2018 Kuniskis took over as the Global Head of Alpha Romeo and Maserati and later that year was given the Jeep brand to shepherd as well. In 2021 management was shuffled yet again with Kuniskis heading back to Dodge. In 2023 he was given the keys to the Ram brand as well. If you can’t keep all this executive movement straight, you’re not alone. In May of 2024 Kuniskis announced his swift and immediate retirement, effective June 1st.
Now, after his sudden resignation and just seven short months of retirement, the company has announced that Kuniskis will be returning to lead the RAM brand once again. Stellantis representatives confirmed his return to the company in a statement to CNBC: “Today’s changes will enable us to operate in a structure that will drive the best outcomes for the region, unlock significant potential and win in the market. A main lever is for the Ram brand to have its CEO singularly focused on that brand.” Chrysler CEO Christine Feuell, who was leading RAM as its interim CEO, will now also be in charge of Alfa Romeo, replacing Larry Dominique.
As for what this means for the RAM brand exactly, we’re not sure. However, we are excited for the prospects that lay ahead. With a revised 2025 RAM Heavy Duty lineup on the way, we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least ponder the likelihood of Kuniskis channeling his performance roots into retaking the heavy-duty performance crown from Ford. With a new larger displacement Cummins engine rumored to be in development, it wouldn’t take much effort to dethrone Ford’s current best-in-class 1,200 lb-ft of torque and 40,000 pounds of maximum towing. For 2024, RAM is already at 1,075 lb-ft and more than 37,000 pounds of max towing.
While we know it’ll take time to steer the big ship that is the RAM brand back in the right direction, we’re thankful that it never got too far off course to begin with (lookin’ at you, Chrysler). And we’re confident that Tim Kuniskis is the right person for the job.