Report: Stellantis Discusses Engine Plans

With Stellantis vowing to launch a slew of all-electric and hybrid vehicles by 2030, many are wondering how this will impact the lineup in North America. The company has repeatedly alluded to eliminating the HEMI V8 in favor of the more-European Hurricane 3.0-liter straight-six. While this is clearly being done to comply with emissions regulations without having to sacrifice power, plenty have bemoaned the company’s decision to abandon V8 powertrains whilst pivoting toward electrification. 

But Micky Bly, senior vice president and head of global propulsion systems for Stellantis, recently assured the public that the company doesn’t intend on dumping combustion engines overnight. It’s even going to keep a few of Chrysler’s oldest units around — just with some improvements designed to meet the relevant emissions standards. 

"When we came together as two families, PSA and FCA, we had a lot of engines,” the executive was quoted as saying by Automotive News on Wednesday. “We are rapidly streamlining our three-cylinder, four-cylinder and six-cylinder and even our eight-cylinder engines. We are aggressively streamlining our diesel portfolio. We already exited the 3.0-liter diesel. We will have a low-displacement diesel and a big diesel that's coming in the future."

Stellantis wants to have 75 EVs on sale globally by the end of the decade. 

"We have to balance this approach,” said Mr. Bly. “ ICE is here to stay for a period of time. We are growing capacity, adding capacity, for South America, the Middle East and Europe and Asia Pacific.”

From Automotive News: 

As for the U.S., Bly said Stellantis' strategy will see new engines and improved versions of current gasoline powertrains.

"One of the things that was very clear [in the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles] was that we had some engines that were not performing well on our C02 road map," he said. "We could fix some of those things with [mild and plug-in hybrids]. The Hemi doesn't have all the attributes we needed. We could go and redo the Hemi, but we realized we needed to downsize the engine and bring up the power."

That happened late last year with the introduction of the 3.0-liter Hurricane twin-turbo inline six-cylinder, which makes more power than the bigger, heavier 6.4-liter Hemi V-8. A high-output version of the Hurricane makes 520 hp, 35 hp more than the Hemi V-8. "We have more power. We just haven't released it yet," said Bly.

Losing the HEMI will remain a serious blow to some MOPAR fans. V8 motors are often seen as iconically American and there will be some prospective customers who will feel uneasy about losing a large, naturally aspirated motor for a smaller, more-complicated unit sporting forced induction. Properly cared for examples of Stellantis’ older V8 powertrain have surpassed 200,000 miles, whereas the inline-six is an unknown quantity reliant on turbocharging to make additional power. 

But the manufacturer is already having trouble adhering to American regulations and likely couldn’t make good use of the V8 outside of the United States or Canada anyway. Keep in mind that the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group that created Stellantis has only upped the European influence. 

Corporate leadership made it crystal clear that those newly acquired American brands (e.g. Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, RAM) would need to prove themselves viable if they were to continue existing. But Stellantis is also trying to prioritize synergy on a global scale, meaning there needs to be more overlap between its tiny-engined European cars and our hulking American behemoths. 

It’s a scheme literally every company that’s bought up Chrysler has had trouble making work. However, it’s probably unavoidable since we’ve seen Ford and General Motors likewise prioritize smaller motors while pursuing a more global mindset. Besides, the United States is already echoing some of the regulatory jargon we’ve been seeing from Europe and President Biden has made it a priority to transition the country to all-electric vehicles as quickly as possible — regardless of how ready the relevant technologies, charging infrastructure, or consumers happen to be. 

Stellantis is downsizing powertrains and has confirmed that the 3.0-liter Hurricane will get a smaller, 2.0-liter counterpart boasting just four cylinders. Automotive News also reported that there’s a three-cylinder version on the way that’s supposedly based on a preexisting European motor. 

However, Bly did say that the Pentastar V6 would be sticking around – noting that the Hurricane was technically small enough to replace it. Considering how compact V6 motors tend to be on average vs I-6 motors, that’s a pretty serious brag. But the Pentastar will see some updates, including hybridization. 

"The Pentastar is a very good, lower-cost, rock-solid, high-quality stalwart of our collection, and we have no plans to replace it. In fact, shortly, you will hear of an improvement coming, and it will be a bit of an electrification story,” stated Bly.

[Image: Stellantis]

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