Stellantis Mexico celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Saltillo North Engine Plant in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico, this past weekend. The 1.2 million square foot facility kicked off engine production on May 8th, 1981, and has since produced over 15 million engines in that time. Currently, the plant is home to two of the Stellantis engine families, the HEMI V8 and Tigershark inline-four-cylinder.
The 1,729 (1,550 hourly; 179 salaried) employees that work at the plant, work on two shifts. In 2002, the plant started producing the 5.7-liter HEMI engine for the Ram 2500/3500 Heavy Duty. Ever since the Saltillo North plant has produced every modern-day HEMI built. In 2013, then Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced that it would invest $164 million to build an additional line to assemble the Tigershark engine, which began in the first quarter of 2014. Currently, Tigershark engines are also built at plants in Dundee and Trenton, Michigan.
“For all of us who are part of this plant, it is an honor to celebrate 40 uninterrupted years producing different engines for the world. This achievement has been possible thanks to the excellent workmanship and the commitment to always do things better on the part of everyone who works here”, comments Carlos Rivera, Vice President of Manufacturing in Mexico. “Since the plant began operations until today, it has distinguished itself by assembling engines with the highest quality standards, which has earned us several awards, and this inspires us to continue giving the best of ourselves,” Rivera added.
Saltillo North currently produces the following engines…
| Current Saltillo North Assembly Engine Production: | |||||
| Engine Type: | Horsepower: | Torque (lb.-ft.): | Applications: | ||
| 2.4-liter Tigershark I-4 | 180 to 184 | 171 to 175 | Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Renegade | ||
| 5.7-liter “Eagle” HEMI V8 | 360 to 392 | 390 to 410 | Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Durango, Ram 1500, Ram 4000, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, and Jeep Wagoneer | ||
| 6.4-liter “Apache” HEMI V8 | 470 to 485 | 470 | Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and Jeep Wrangler | ||
| 6.4-liter “Big Gas Engine or BGE” HEMI V8 | 366 to 410 | 429 | Ram 2500/3500/4000/4500/5500 | ||
| Supercharged 6.2-liter HELLCAT HEMI V8 | 702 to 717 | 645 to 650 | Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ram 1500 | ||
| Supercharged 6.2-liter HELLCAT HEMI High-Output V8 | 797 to 807 | 707 | Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger | ||
Every supercharged HEMI V8 to roll out of the Saltillo North plant undergoes a 42-minute dynamometer shakedown before it is shipped for assembly in a vehicle. This includes those engines slated for crate engine applications.
Today, HEMI engines are found in some versions of vehicles such as Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Durango, Jeep® Grand Cherokee, Jeep® Grand Cherokee L, Ram 1500, Ram 2500, Ram 3500, Ram 4000, Ram 4500, and Ram 5500. The HEMI engines produced by the Saltillo North plant have been listed on the Wards Top-10 Engines list, seven times.
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