Stellantis is preparing one of the most aggressive V8 comebacks in recent memory, planning to put well over 100,000 HEMI engines on American roads by 2026. After years of signaling a pivot to downsized turbocharged units and electrification, the company is now betting that demand for old-school torque and sound has been underestimated. The move could reshape the near-term truck and muscle-car market, even as regulators and rivals push hard toward batteries and smaller engines.
I see this as more than a nostalgia play. By scaling HEMI output while keeping its newer twin-turbo inline-six and electrified platforms in the mix, Stellantis is trying to prove that combustion performance still has room to grow inside a tightening emissions box. The question is whether this surge in V8 volume is a last great roar or the start of a longer coexistence between HEMI power and cleaner tech.
Stellantis’ 100,000-engine bet on HEMI power
The core of the strategy is simple: build a lot more V8s, very quickly. Company leaders have said that HEMI output will jump sharply in 2026, with plans to produce more than 100,000 engines in a single year. That figure would more than triple recent volumes and marks a decisive shift from the period when Stellantis was winding down V8 availability in favor of its twin-turbo Hurricane inline-six. The message from executives like Kunikiskis is that HEMI Output is set to Jump because customer demand never really went away, it was only constrained by capacity.
To unlock that volume, Stellantis is reworking its manufacturing footprint. Internal targets call for a move from roughly 30,000 HEMI V8s built last year to more than 100,000 across a range of displacements, including 5.7s and 6.4s. Reporting tied to Mopar Insiders indicates that Stellantis is aiming to fire Hemi production back up at the Dundee Engine Plant in Michigan, while other coverage points to a “one engine plant, two high-volume families” approach that pairs the HEMI with the Hurricane inline-six at facilities like Saltillo. In other words, the company is not abandoning its new tech, it is threading V8s back into the same industrial ecosystem.
Ram 1500: from scarcity to “Ram Hemis This Year”
The most immediate beneficiary of this surge is Ram. After years of limited availability, the brand is preparing to sell dramatically more V8 pickups, with internal chatter around “100K Ram Hemis This” as capacity opens up. Executives have acknowledged that There were capacity constraints that previously capped Ram at about 10,000 trucks with the Hemi in a year, a tiny slice of total Ram volume. With the production tap opening, Ram is effectively moving the Hemi from niche option back to mainstream choice.
That shift is already visible in the 2026 Ram 1500 lineup. Dealer material confirms that the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 is back in nearly every trim level, framed simply as Ram HEMI Return after an era when the engine was being phased out. Another retailer describes how The HEMI Is Back in the 2026 RAM 1500, detailing Performance Specs and Towing Capacity for buyers who want traditional V8 grunt alongside newer powertrains. By restoring broad availability, Ram is betting that a large share of its core truck audience still equates capability and longevity with eight cylinders, even as fuel prices and regulations push in the opposite direction.
Charger and Jeep: halo HEMIs for street and trail
Trucks are only part of the story. Stellantis is also using the HEMI to keep its performance halo bright, particularly around Dodge and Jeep. On the Dodge side, Rumors have been swirling that Dodge is preparing to reintroduce a Hemi V8 to the Charger line, with reporting that a legend potentially regains its heart as engineers work on a new configuration of the Charger with a Hemi. Enthusiast coverage has already highlighted the Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak, where However, the centerpiece is a V8 that keeps the car’s drag-strip credentials intact even as the broader Charger family experiments with electrified and six-cylinder setups.
The performance push is not limited to print. At least one high-profile video walkaround has showcased a 2026 Dodge Charger HEMI Supercharged V8, with Joe Rady of Radius Rides filming at Las Vegas Motors Speedway for the drag racing crowd. Jeep, meanwhile, is extending the HEMI mystique off-road. A factory release describes how, From the red rocks of Utah to the back roads of Vermont, the unmistakable sound of a HEMI V-8 is now officially coast to coast in the Wrangler Moab 392. That announcement makes clear that the HEMI name is being used as a national calling card for Jeep’s most extreme Wrangler, with orders open across states like Utah, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington for buyers who want a trail-ready V8 straight from the factory.
Inside the factories: how Stellantis plans to triple HEMI volume
Scaling from 30,000 to more than 100,000 V8s is not just a marketing decision, it is a manufacturing puzzle. Internal comments captured in enthusiast reporting describe how Looking ahead, 2026 changes the equation, with executives saying, “Now, this year, we built 30,000 last year. This year, we’re going to go over” that figure as they bring multiple HEMI displacements back online. A separate report tied to Mopar Insiders claims Stellantis is targeting August to have Hemi production fired up again at the Dundee Engine Plant in Michigan, which would give the company another North American base for V8 assembly.
At the same time, Stellantis is trying to keep its broader powertrain strategy coherent. Coverage of the company’s plans notes that both the HEMI V8 and the twin-turbo Hurricane I6 will share space in a “one engine plant, two high-volume families” model, with some reports indicating that Stelllantis is limiting expansion plans to Saltillo for certain configurations. Other analysis of how HEMI Is Back in a Big Way, with Stellantis Targets 100,000+ V8 Engines for 2026, points out that this is not a full reversal of the electrification push but a recalibration based on Unprecedented Demand for V8 trucks and muscle cars. In practice, that means the same factories that were being tooled for downsized engines are now being asked to juggle HEMI, Hurricane and hybrid-ready architectures in parallel.
Why the HEMI comeback matters in an EV decade
All of this is happening against a backdrop of tightening emissions rules and aggressive electric-vehicle targets. Stellantis has been clear that its long-term roadmap leans heavily on EVs and efficient turbocharged engines, yet the decision to bring back so many V8s suggests that the company sees a multi-decade tail for combustion in key segments. Reports that HEMI Is Back in a Big Way, with Stellantis Targets 100,000+ V8 Engines for 2026, underline how the company is willing to invest in Engines for customers who still prioritize sound, towing and durability over outright efficiency. At the same time, executives are careful to frame the HEMI surge as part of a broader powertrain and manufacturing strategy rather than a retreat from future tech.
From my perspective, the HEMI revival is a stress test for how flexible that strategy really is. If Ram, Dodge and Jeep can absorb 100,000 extra V8s without cannibalizing Hurricane and electrified sales, Stellantis will have proven that it can serve both traditionalists and early adopters. The risk is that regulators or market shifts move faster than expected, leaving the company with a lot of sunk cost in V8 capacity. For now, though, the sound of a HEMI Is Back in a Big Way, echoed in social posts that highlight how Stellantis Targets 100,000+ V8 Engines for 2026, and in dealer pitches that say The HEMI Is Back for RAM buyers, suggests that the brand equity in those three letters is still powerful enough to shape product planning. From the Utah slickrock to Vermont back roads, and from Las Vegas Motors Speedway for the drag racers to suburban driveways full of Ram and Charger metal, the next two years will show whether that bet pays off.
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