Officially, he left himself. But in reality, Carlos Tavares was fired by Stellantis. Now he is blamed for the fact that no new car has the famous Hemi-V8 engine.
Carlos Tavares, who was fired from his position as CEO of Stellantis last week , is blamed for the fact that the HEMI V8 engine is almost no longer found in new cars.
According to sources, it was primarily Tavares who made the decision to drop the iconic engine.
– Everyone would have kept it (the Hemi engine, ed.), a source tells CNBC .
The decision to scrap the HEMI engine has become a symbol of the challenges that characterized Tavares' time as the top leader of the world's fourth-largest automobile group.
Several media outlets report that the decision to drop the V8 engine was partly due to an internal power struggle within Stellantis.
Some employees saw the company as a European group, while others considered it all as an American organization with European departments.
Sources tell CNBC that Tavares prioritized European brands, which is why he was also very focused on reducing CO2 emissions. In fact, he complained loudly that some competitions want the EU to relax upcoming CO2 requirements.
According to the media, the enormous focus on electrification cost the HEMI engine its life. And that's something that many Americans are upset about. Especially because the market hasn't switched to electric cars at the pace that the car brands were promised and, to a large extent, expected themselves.
Stellantis' future direction is now uncertain following Tavares' departure. A new CEO is expected to be appointed within the coming year.
Until then, the American-Italian John Elkan has taken charge. However, several major changes have already taken place. In less than a week, former Dodge and Ram director Tim Kuniskis has been reinstated. He retired earlier this year.
Kuniskis is known as a big advocate for the HEMI series of V8 engines. And he was personally involved when Stellantis developed the Hellcat models for Dodge.
The question of the future of the HEMI V8 engine remains unanswered, however. Stellantis still offers HEMI V8 engines as so-called “crate engines.”
That is, complete engines that customers have to put in their cars themselves. However, the engine will still be in the Durango Hellcat when it rolls off the assembly line. Dodge decided earlier this year to extend the model's life into 2025.
