Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Ram and Dodge brands and responsible for the launch of numerous American muscle cars, is retiring after nearly 32 years with Stellantis. The announcement comes as Stellantis grapples with declining sales in the United States and begins the transition from internal combustion vehicles to electric vehicles. According to Motorintelligence.com, the automotive group’s sales fell by 14.1 percent in April, while the sector as a whole recorded an increase of 3.1 percent.
Tim Kuniskis retires after 32 years of career in brands now part of Stellantis
For years, Kuniskis has been the spokesman for high-performance American cars, introducing many powerful models including last year’s 1,025-horsepower Challenger SRT Demon 170. Kuniskis first came into the spotlight when he was appointed head of Fiat in North America. He had made a name for himself through sales and dealership operations in the Orlando area for Chrysler since 1993. At the time, he was a senior manager at the Midwest Business Center before becoming marketing director for the Chrysler brand in 2009.
In 2014, former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne chose Tim Kuniskis to lead the Dodge brand, replacing Ralph Gilles, who retained his leadership position in the product design division. Under Kuniskis’ leadership, Dodge launched a new era of muscle cars with its Hellcat HEMI engines, taking the brand on an even more significant path in terms of performance.
In 2018, Kuniskis left the Chrysler, Dodge, SRT, and Fiat brands to become global head of the Alfa Romeo brand, head of the Maserati brand, and head of Jeep North America (replacing Mike Manley who had been appointed CEO of FCA after Marchionne’s death). He subsequently returned to being CEO of Dodge and later also of Ram. It should be noted that in March, Kuniskis presented two electric versions of the Charger muscle car, keeping a gasoline-powered version of the Charger but without the Hemi V8 engine, which will be launched next year instead.
He will be replaced at Ram by Christine Feuell, who will assume responsibility for the brand in addition to her duties leading the Chrysler brand. Matt McAlear will become CEO of the Dodge brand. He has long been involved in Dodge sales and has extensive experience in the automotive industry, the company said in a statement.