Stellantis NV CEO Antonio Filosa indicated Thursday that Ram will play a major role in the struggling automaker's turnaround effort, thanks to the brand's profit margins, brand equity and global footprint — plus high-profile product plans that include its first full-size SUV and a midsize pickup.

"Ram has many superpowers," Filosa said during a conference organized by Goldman Sachs — including raking in the most profits of any of the automaker's 14 brands.

Some of the brand's superpowers have been unlocked by President Donald Trump's deregulatory push, including a Wednesday Oval Office announcement of plans to drastically relax fuel economy standards. Filosa attended the event and briefly thanked Trump for the rules change.

The looser fuel economy and emissions regulations opened the door to Ram to bring back the gas-guzzling Hemi V-8 to its light-duty pickup lineup recently, for which it is charging extra over the standard six-cylinder.

Filosa said the company got 10,000 orders for the V-8 the first day it was announced and 50,000 six weeks in. The company has shipped 10,000 to customers so far. Under Trump, the brand has also scrapped plans for a fully-electric pickup amid slowing sales in the segment.

He said Ram plans to grow sales in the next couple years by adding its first SUV, which will be built at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant, and an all-new midsize pickup, to be built at the Toledo Assembly Complex, which he said can compete with the Toyota Tacoma. Both of the new vehicles are expected to be gas-burners, with the SUV a type of range-extended hybrid. Ram is also coming out with a full-size range-extended hybrid pickup.

The CEO also noted potential for more international sales growth for the brand, including in South America, where it recently started making a new Ram midsize truck for that market in Argentina.

"Really we are turning around the most exciting pickup truck brand in the world, and you will see many things happening for Ram," Filosa said.

The CEO, who took over in June, is trying to reverse market share and profit declines that helped contribute to the departure of his predecessor, Carlos Tavares, one year ago.

At the Thursday conference, Filosa also underscored a new push companywide into hybrids, especially for the United States. The automaker has long touted its plug-in hybrid offerings, but he said the automaker now plans to focus more on mild hybrids that don't have a plug, an area he sees more demand.

At the end of the month, the automaker plans to launch its first plugless hybrid offering, the Jeep Cherokee.

"The segment of the U.S. market that has the fastest growth in the last year has been hybrid," he said. "So we are launching that because we truly believe that hybrid is going to be one of the favorite powertrains in the U.S. ... We really believe in this technology, and want to expand this technology for other applications."

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