IN WHAT WON’T COME AS a surprise to many, Dodge’s attempts to change attitudes in the US by launching the Dodge Charger Daytona R/T as a battery electric vehicle have failed spectacularly.
Introduced in December last year, the EV Charger generated (pun intended) virtually zero interest among Charger loyalists, weaned for generations on petrol-powered Hemi V8s. They stayed away in their droves, prompting Dodge to pull the pin on production.
Billed as “the first fully electric muscle car”, Dodge dealers in the US are reportedly sitting on an estimated 3500 unsold units.
As a result, they have been heavily discounting the Charger. MoparInsider reports that prices have been slashed, quoting one instance where the price has come down from $US61,590 to just $34,184.
The entry-level Charger has been axed, and a return to V8 power is strongly mooted. The higher-powered AWD Charger Scat Pack model, pushing out 470kW, is still in production, but being “price adjusted”.
V8 enthusiasts have hanging out for a reborn Hemi V8 Charger and probably won’t be swayed by the incoming petrol straight-six twin turbo versions.
Dodge CEO Matt McAlear hasn’t helped things by admitting earlier this year that Dodge, and other Stellantis nameplates, have decided “V8 is no longer a bad word around the company” and hinting that the path of each brand is being actively (and, one imagines, urgently) reconsidered.
Mr McAlear has reasserted Dodge’s commitment to electric vehicles and, for the Charger, turbocharged straight-six models.
Across the internet, V8 fans are insistent that a Hemi V8 Charger is imminent.