Ram CEO Christine Feuell pushes through 1500 production hiccups, guides Chrysler's future

DETROIT — Christine Feuell has a full plate.

The CEO of Ram and Chrysler is guiding two brands with vastly different positions in the Stellantis portfolio. One is the all-important purveyor of high-priced pickups driving profits in North America that's faced slowed sales, while the other is a storied presence heading into an uncertain future where it will go electric vehicle-only by 2028.

Feuell, who took the helm of Chrysler in September 2021, assumed leadership of Ram in June at a challenging time for the brand.

Production hiccups slowed the ramp-up of the freshened 2025 1500 pickup that launched in the first quarter, while Feuell said leftover inventory from the previous year has proven difficult to move off dealership lots. At the end of June, the days' supply for Ram products was more than double the industry's 75.6-day average. Pickup sales for Stellantis' truck brand were down 23.4 percent in the second quarter in the U.S., while slipping 19.5 percent through June.

But Feuell sees a way forward for Ram going into the year's final stretch and believes the brand has a chance to draw new audiences with the launch of the electric 1500 REV in early 2025 and the 1500 Ramcharger, an electrified pickup with an onboard gas generator to extend range that follows the REV later next year.

Meanwhile, Feuell said Chrysler is getting three lineup additions before the end of the decade as that brand reestablishes itself after a long stretch with few product offerings.

Feuell said Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan, which builds the current-generation Ram 1500, is moving past the growing pains that complicated the rollout of the refreshed 1500.

"We had a very slow ramp-up of the '25 model year light-duty [midcycle action] at Sterling Heights, so those lower levels of production contributed in part to the decline" in sales, Feuell told Automotive News on July 30 at Stellantis' North America headquarters here. "But I think the bigger factor that we saw was a buildup of inventory that really started in the fourth quarter of last year. We were very inconsistent in some of our marketing and incentive strategies in the first half of the year and really struggled to sell that inventory down more quickly."

Feuell said 1500 production will be "firing on all cylinders" in the next month or so.

The new high-performance 1500 RHO is slated to go on sale in the third quarter, further bolstering a pickup lineup that also saw the introduction this year of the luxurious Tungsten trim level that tops $90,000.

At a July 25 presentation of Stellantis' first-half earnings, CEO Carlos Tavares said the company has had trouble aligning production with demand for Ram. Tavares said some of the "highest trim levels were not available on the right timing." The issue, he said, "created a distortion in the inventories" that the automaker is working to correct.

"We had a new product with a new electrical architecture, a number of new features and software technology," Feuell said. "It just has taken the plant a lot longer than we all anticipated to ramp up and start building those units with quality. The technology and the powertrains that we're launching were tied to higher trim levels and those are now starting to be produced."

Tavares has called out U.S. plants, pointing to the Sterling Heights operation in particular, for having too many vehicles that need reworking after journeying through assembly lines. He said reworking can raise costs, lead to additional quality issues if not done right and slow down shipments to dealerships.

Michael Spencer, president of UAW Local 1700 that represents the Sterling Heights plant, said in an email to Automotive News that he encourages Tavares to visit the facility and "actively engage in any discussions on what we can do to contribute to the success of the Ram 1500 truck" at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant.

"Yes, there are concerns in regards to SHAP and the Ram throughput production rate, but I strongly believe that they are nothing that we collectively cannot overcome," Spencer wrote. "SHAP/UAW has seen this scenario play out before in 2009 and the UAW workers have proven with the proper resources and financial investment along with dedication to stringent processes we can and will fix any concerns that are currently facing us."

While Feuell juggles her Ram responsibilities, she's also looking to the future with Chrysler.

She said the brand is getting its first EV, a crossover, in 2026. In the following years, Chrysler will debut another crossover, she said, and an "all-new" minivan. AutoForecast Solutions said both models will be EVs.

Tavares said in June at the company's investor day that Stellantis is taking things "one step at a time" with Chrysler. After the first three products are introduced, Tavares said the brand will "make an assessment and decide if we succeeded or we failed."

The initial phase of the Chrysler rebirth was originally slated to begin in 2025 with its inaugural EV crossover, but Feuell said the vehicle's release has been pushed back a few months.

She said there were a number of battery-electric vehicle launches that took "longer to complete than originally planned" and the "Chrysler BEV got caught up in that timing shift." The product, Feuell said, "is fantastic. It's absolutely going to be ready, but in order to prepare for industrialization at the plant, it forced a few months delay."