This Is How Stellantis (STLA) Plans to Revive Its Ram Brand

Business Insider

11 hours ago

Ram, the truck brand owned by automaker Stellantis (STLA), is working to make a comeback after losing market share over the past several years. Indeed, according to CNBC, Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis promised a bold comeback plan that includes bringing back Hemi V-8 engines with a new 'Symbol of Protest,' re-entering NASCAR with a new race truck, and offering an industry-leading 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. These moves aim to recover from Ram's 38% sales drop since its peak in 2019.
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Ram's recent struggles are due to several issues, such as poor timing of model launches and a problematic redesign of the Ram 1500 that caused ongoing production delays. Indeed, this led to the Ram 1500's market share in the full-size truck segment to decline from 17.8% in 2019 to just 8.4% recently. However, Kuniskis, who came back during a leadership shakeup, is now leading a turnaround that's already showing signs of progress.
Interestingly, the plan includes more than just product updates. In fact, Kuniskis launched a new marketing push called 'Nothing Stops Ram' and even handed out wristbands with the slogan 'Last Tenth LFG' to motivate his team and rebuild trust with dealers. So far, dealers are responding positively by saying that the brand is on track to regain lost ground. In addition, Ram's electrification plans are being delayed due to weak demand, but a plug-in hybrid truck with up to 690 miles of range is expected to launch soon. Kuniskis believes that this model will be a major asset in the comeback.
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Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on STLA stock based on four Buys, 10 Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average STLA price target of $11.59 per share implies 13.7% upside potential.