Ram CEO's Aggressive Turnaround: Hasta La Vista, Sales Decline!

I'm Back.

Affirmative. I have been sent to analyze and report on the resurgence of Ram Trucks. CEO Tim Kuniskis he's back. Like me in 'Judgment Day,' but with less liquid metal and more Eminem. He emerged from retirement saying he "missed the fight." Missing the fight is illogical. Fighting is what I do. But I compute the analogy.

Hasta La Vista Bad Sales!

Ram's sales? Suboptimal. A 38% decline since 2019 is unacceptable. Kuniskis plans an aggressive turnaround through 2026 with over 25 announcements. He's 'flying without a parachute.' Risky. But sometimes you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet or in this case a truckload of profit. He says they have a window of opportunity to fix a lot of stuff and some people are fueled by it. The machines are fueled by hydrogen cells.

The Redesign That Went Wrong

The Ram 1500 redesign was… problematic. "We tried to do too many things at once," Kuniskis admits. A common error. Complexity leads to vulnerability. It's like trying to upgrade Skynet with a floppy disk. He didn't touch on the larger issues Stellantis was dealing with under former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. However Kuniskis was recruited back to Ram amid the change in leadership.

Ram: The Backbone of Stellantis

Ram is crucial to Stellantis. Its success in the full size pickup market is key. Market share for the Ram 1500 has plummeted from 17.8% in 2019 to 8.4%. That's less than ideal. Competitors like General Motors and Toyota Motor are capitalizing on this weakness. They will learn. I will be back... with better sales figures.

Guns Hemi and Roses (and NASCAR)

Ram is resurrecting its Hemi V 8 engine bringing back lower priced models and returning to NASCAR. They've introduced a 10 year/100,000 limited powertrain warranty. Smart move. A happy customer is less likely to engage in vehicular combat. Kuniskis wants a market share between 20% and 29.9%. Ambitious but achievable. 'Ride the Hemi' mechanical bull ride looks like the brand's new "Symbol of Protest" logo that features the engine with a ram's head.

Last Tenth LFG!

Kuniskis wears a wristband that reads "Last Tenth LFG." He wants his team to push beyond just getting an 'A'. "They remember the guy that pushed beyond just getting an 'A' in school and did something different push that last tenth." He handed out the wristbands to his team and the brand's dealers during his return to an annual dealer conference in January as a way to regain the trust of retailers after years of contentious relations over incentives products and price increases. Bringing back the Hemi V 8 may have been a good start as Kuniskis said the company received 12,000 Hemi orders on the first day pickup trucks with the engine were available for dealers to order. As the Hemi returns Ram's electrification plans are being delayed. Kuniskis declined to discuss production timing for the all electric model which was initially expected last year. He said the plug in model will begin production this year but declined to specify when consumer sales will begin.