Ram Tops Stellantis in U.S. as HEMI Revival Drives Growth

Ram has become Stellantis's best-selling brand in the United States, overtaking Jeep thanks to a leadership-driven product push centered on revived HEMI V8 power and SRT performance models.

Leadership, strategy and the turnaround

The shift at the top of Stellantis's U.S. lineup traces to a deliberate change in leadership and product strategy. Tim Kuniskis returned to Ram in 2026 after previously having been escorted out of his office while Carlos Tavares was CEO. He was brought back following Tavares's abrupt departure and given a clear brief to rescue the brand. Kuniskis pursued a strategy that the company describes as the opposite of Tavares's recent direction, prioritizing high-emotion, internal combustion performance alongside other initiatives.

Once the initial turnaround was in motion, Kuniskis relinquished day-to-day control of Ram to Matt VanDyke, a former Ford executive, so Kuniskis could address broader tasks across Stellantis's American brands. The strategy Kuniskis set in motion remained in place under VanDyke's leadership and has been a major factor in Ram's recent sales performance.

Products, powertrains and market impact

A central element of the push has been the return of HEMI V8 engines and the revival of the Street and Racing Technology division, branded SRT. Ram now applies SRT to models including the Ram 1500 TRX SRT and a range-topping Rumble Bee, with both TRX and the top Rumble Bee rated at 777 horsepower by the factory. Those power figures position them as the most powerful internal combustion pickup trucks in Ram's current lineup.

The reintroduced 5.7-liter HEMI underpins the base Ram 1500 Rumble Bee, a model that reportedly sold out within 90 minutes of opening for orders. The base Rumble Bee is priced from $59,995 and is factory-rated at 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque. Higher-end variants are planned: the Rumble Bee 392, powered by the naturally aspirated 6.4-liter Apache HEM and starting at $69,995, and the Rumble Bee Track Pack that carries the same engine and output but adds an SRT functional induction hood, adaptive air suspension, launch control, and large Brembo brakes with six-piston front calipers. The range-topping 777-horsepower 1500 Rumble Bee SRT is slated to start at $97,790. Stellantis says these variants are expected to reach the market sometime in 2027.

Ram is also expanding beyond trucks, preparing an SUV called the Ramcharger as part of a broader growth plan. Meanwhile, the product-led strategy and the reintroduction of high-displacement engines have translated into measurable sales gains. Stellantis reports Ram posted 29 percent year-over-year growth, driven in part by a 73 percent jump in Ram 1500 sales. Over the same period, Jeep fell 20 percent in the third quarter, Chrysler rose a modest 6 percent, and Alfa Romeo's sales declined by roughly 65 percent, a drop the source summarized in Italian as "Di male in peggio, e infine al peggio."

Those results have lifted Ram into one of the auto industry's top-performing brand stories this year, particularly within the highly competitive pickup segment. The combination of leadership change, a return to V8 performance, and a clear product roadmap underpins how Ram moved from trailing within Stellantis's U.S. portfolio to its current position at the top.