While many of its competitors are forced to buy regulatory emissions credits from Tesla and others, Stellantis says it isn’t spending a cent on credits, not something that can be said about its past as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
While recently speaking with the media at a conference in San Francisco, California, Ram and Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis said Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares isn’t allowing the firm “to ever buy a single credit,” and says that this has forced the brand to innovate to ensure it complies with emissions regulations.
This is particularly evident with the Ram 1500. According to Kuniskis, if Stellantis were buying regulatory credits, it would probably still be selling the 1500 with a Hemi V8. Instead, it has dropped that engine for 2025 and replaced it with the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline-six available in 420 hp / 469 lb-ft (636 Nm) and 540 hp / 521 lb-ft (706 Nm) guises. In addition to offering significant performance gains over the old Hemi V8, the Hurricane engine is also more fuel efficient and emits fewer toxic gases.
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“Not having that mental safety blanket really forces you to self-regulate, it forces you to make the tough calls, and we literally adjust our plans on a monthly basis based on where we see the trajectory of compliance,” Kuniskis told Auto News.
The boss of Ram and Dodge added that the selection of new Stellantis platforms will allow it to adapt to different regulatory requirements around the globe. For example, the brand’s new STLA Large platform will support both battery-electric and combustion-powered models and underpin vehicles from Dodge, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and Maserati. One of the most exciting vehicles to be underpinned by this platform will be the next-generation Dodge Charger.
“That one platform, with essentially one set of [electric drive modules ] and two ICE engines has the ability to cover over 30 percent of the industry,” Kuniskis said. “All those different combinations, all those different brands, all those different customer profiles that allow you to expand the adoption of that one platform, and the ability to flex between those technologies not across multiple cars or platforms, but flex between those technologies within one platform, one manufacturing footprint, one supplier base — depending on whichever way the regulations go — we can flex it in that direction.”
