Another quarter has passed, and the automakers have released their sales results. As is tradition, things aren’t going the best over at the Stellantis brands. Case in point, Dodge! The core brand has seen its sales cut almost in half as critical new models struggle to get off the starting line.
The sales charts make for sobering reading if you’re a Dodge executive—otherwise, they’re kind of funny. In the first two quarters of 2025, Dodge has sold just 47,481 vehicles. Contrast that to 2024, when the brand sold 92,735 units in the same period. It’s a sales drop of 49%—the kind of number that really sets alarm bells ringing.
When a brand struggles for sales, the problem is often diffuse, spread across the whole lineup. In Dodge’s case, though, it’s easy to see what’s gone wrong. Without its core muscle cars, the brand has lost a massive chunk of the market. Let’s break down the numbers, for they tell a very sad story indeed.
2024 was a major turning point for Dodge. The brand had announced it would be phasing out the long-running Charger and Challenger models. The V8 hero cars had become the icons of the brand, but would soon end production. In the first half of 2024, Dodge would go on to sell 26,876 Chargers and 21,217 Challengers. This was less than previous years, but still solid figures.
Cut to 2025. The ICE-powered Charger and Challenger are gone. Dodge has managed to sell 1,630 and 1,501 units, respectively. These sales came from old stock, which was still sitting around from previous years, much of which likely sold at a big discount.
Of course, Dodge didn’t cancel these cars without a replacement in mind. It prepared the Charger Daytona, which promised to combine muscle car panache with an electric drivetrain. However, the Daytona has failed to connect with customers. Dodge sold just 4,299 examples up to the end of June. Sales have been slow enough that multiple dealers have offered five-figure discounts on the brand-new EVs.
Add up the numbers, and you can see what a bleak scenario Dodge is in. Compared to the 48,093 Chargers and Challengers sold in 2024, the Daytona sold less than a tenth of that in comparison.
Muscle cars aren’t Dodge’s only problem, just the biggest. The unloved Hornet is also a pain point, with sales down 52% year-on-year thus far. The only model in the positives is the Durango, up 4%, with a total of 34,399 units sold up to the end of June (though Dodge has been also discounting those).
“How’s Dodge going to get out of this one?!” you might ask, for the fiftieth time in the last three years. Well, we can assume the Badassador program has failed to net any real sales boost. Instead, Dodge might hope that new product turns the tide. New Chargers are coming that feature good old internal combustion drivetrains, in the form of Dodge’s powerful Hurricane inline-six. Four-door models are also on the way, which could boost interest in both the ICE and EV versions. There have long been whispers that the Hemi V8 could return, too, which might reignite the passions of a grunt-thirsty America.
Ultimately, Dodge might be turning into a Harley-Davidson story at this point. It was treading water with aging product, while failing to attract new blood to the brand. It might find some gains by going back to what it was doing, but it’s unclear how long that would actually help.
Unless something drastically changes, Dodge will have a hole in its sales figures a full 50,000 cars wide. That’s going to take some fixing, and I’m not sure what else they could possibly have to fill it with.
Image credits: Dodge
If you want to move vehicles, make vehicles that are affordable and don’t suck.
For Stellantis, it feels like Chrysler and Dodge are akin to the obnoxious old auntie and her man-o-sphere lunkhead son no one wants at the BBQ.
They can’t really disown them but they’ll be damned if they’re going to give them any money.
the fact that the hornet and daytona didn’t even attempt to be Chryslers feels like it all but confirms that Stellantis doesn’t see a future in Chrysler
I’ve never driven a Charger or Challenger and of course I understand the attraction of their size and power, along with relatively cheap pricing. While I think I’d be fine/happy with the base six-cylinder version of either car, the various V8 versions of both cars seem to be the popular choice among certain demographics, including those that wind up in police pursuit and street takeover videos on Youtube.
Maybe Dodge will address all of the Challenger Daytona EV’s various shortcomings in a future revision, and maybe the Tonale/Hornet will similarly improve with evolution, though I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for either one. Barring epic stupidity on Stellantis’ part (not impossible) Challenger (and eventual Charger) sales should pick up when ICE-powered versions are available.
Bring back the V8 with a manual transmission option. Put some bespoke analogue gauges mixed with a reasonably sized nav screen. Otherwise no thanks, will just buy used.
Same demographic as Harley motorcycles, same eventual fate. Loud and proud, starving for attention, cosplaying some kind of badass image from 30 years ago. Any dumbass can stomp on the gas pedal and be a nuisance which is the point of any loud car or motorcycle. Challenger splitter guards tells you everything you need to know about most muscle car buyers.
awwww, I liked it when they made them pink
I finally (unfortunately?) saw a new Charger in person the other day. I mean I know they are meant to be full sized cars, but it was definitely much bigger in person than pictures make it out to be. I will say it didn’t look as bad on the road as it does in pictures but it still was very ungainly. My wife looked at it and looked at me and said “is that a new Charger? Good Lord what did they do to it?”
I have never seen a new Charger in person. I see a Cybertruck about every week, but no Chargers.
Oh without a doubt. The Cyberdump is everywhere, usually wrapped, in my area. The outlier is I did see one towing a small utility trailer the other day. It was impressive until I saw a 2nd gen Prius a couple days later towing a bigger enclosed U-Haul trailer.
Stellantis realized being a sheep, being a beta, getting rid of the SRT team in 2021 and getting rid of V8 muscle cars got them going broke. Stellantis is bringing back the SRT team Finally Dodge grew back its b*lls to be an Alpha.
I maintain I am in the target market for a muscle car EV. But it needs to be four doors and it needs to be at least $20k cheaper for what’s being offered.
To me it’s not the product that’s a miss (well, the price is), it’s how we got here. A platform long overdue for a refresh, kept alive by sheer horsepower that then goes dead for a calendar year before half of its replacement arrives.
Swing and a miss.
I am shocked, shocked I tell you than no one wants to buy Dodge’s compromised EV products.
Yeah the Charger and Challenger buyers all wanted the Hemi V8, even if they could only afford the 6-cylinder. Who was asking for an EV? Very few I would guess.
I just want to give a shoutout to whoever was responsible for packaging the 6.2/6.4 engines in the Challenger/Charger SRT/Hellcat/Demon. They did such an amazing job routing the wires and hoses to give such a clean and uncluttered look to the engine bay.
But yes, I agree. Without sporty/muscle/hooligan vehicles, Dodge is in trouble.
I’ve been checking some local dealer sites after reading this article, they are….interesting.
On the whole the dealers seem to be trying to have as few Chryslers and Dodges on the lot as possible. One dealer has 29 Dodges to 303 Jeeps and 378 Rams. 1 Charger, 3 Hornets out of those 29 Dodges. The Charger has a $20k discount advertised (still only down to $59k). I’m still amazed these things routinely have sticker prices that start with an 8 when I check dealer sites. The Charger/Challenger only got that expensive when it was a Hellcat. And the V6 models could be had relatively cheap.
Another has 25 Dodges to 171 Jeeps and 52 Rams. Of those 25 Dodges, zero Hornets. I supposed it could be because they can’t keep them in stock, but I doubt it.
$23k off the Wagoneer S to a somewhat reasonable mid $40k price point – deals like that has resulted in me finally seeing my first one on the road the other day.
If you were wondering, 2023 Grand Wagoneers are still available as well. They couldn’t even find success with another gas guzzling barge under Tavares.
What is dodge even trying to accomplish at this point with 3 largely uninspiring vehicles? I get that R&D budgets were most likely cut and it was challenging to get new models out there, but still. Some exec must be pounding on their desk screaming, “WTF are we even trying to here?” While everyone else stares on in disbelief thinking quietly, “I thought that was your job.”
I drove by the CDJR dealership yesterday. They had a whole line of just the most awful looking nondescript crossovers out front. What are those travesties, I thought? Oh my god, is that the Hornet? No wonder no one is buying them.
Also I feel like the fact they have CDJR dealerships is a weird thing. Like… you have four brands, but you also smoosh them together? So what’s the point?
I’ll admit I mostly hate it because they’re a pain to write about.
“Head down to Cutlass Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram!”
Lets be honest, they haven’t needed all the brands since well, almost ever. At least since the K car era they has been almost zero differentiation between a Dodge and a Chrysler (and dont forget Plymouth).
Buick/GMC pairings worked when Buick only sold cars and GMC only sold trucks.
Cut it down to just Dodge/Jeep already. Rams can be Dodges again.
This.
Maybe a merger?
Should it be Reep or Jam? Crodge or Drysler?
If it was a word, crodge would be a perfect descriptor for the US arm of Stellantis.
“Jeep and RAM are in a right crodge again”
As a kid in my hometown the Dodge dealership was different than the Chrysler/Plymouth/Jeep (for a short time eagle) dealership. Which meant that at one point the Dodge guy got to sell all the trucks in a high truck per capital county while the other guy basically just had jeeps, before jeep really expanded their offerings. Makes sense to combine them, but yes, it’s just a letter salad now. Call Rams Dodges, continue the minivan and add a luxury sedan or SUV for the Chrysler brand, and Jeep continues as Jeep. CDJ. Easier.
I feel like they needed another k car swiss army economy platform, not a $60k+ Charger platform.
Like an answer to the Escape/Bronco Sport/Maverick platform, make a Rampage truck ute/Spirit crossover with hybrid/phev options.
And now with how the EPA winds have shifted, could’ve held onto the old Charger/Challenger a few more years. Heck how much to rebuild and restart the old production lines? Has that ever been done? Re-retool production lines to go back to building the cars they stopped building a couple years ago?
They needed to build affordable cars that Americans want to buy!
That isn’t a profitable business model. Trucks are a profitable business model because they are unaffordable status symbols that Americans are willing to mortgage their future to buy.
That could have been the Hornet, but it was over priced. Combine that with the same reliability and feel of an 80s K-Car, and it was destined to fail in today’s market. I mean, how do you fail with a small CUV thingy. Even Nissan/Mitsubishi is making that work by hitting 2 of 3 marks.
To everyone who bagged on the Journey, thanks. You’re partially responsible for this.
The Journey was never a class leader, but it could easily be bought for an out-the-door price of $6000-$8000 less than the competition. Most buyers didn’t option down that far, but the fact that it was available that way kept the showroom traffic up.
Stellantis needs to raid whatever parts bins they have access to in order to make reasonably solid, cheap cars, trucks and SUVs again.
What I’ve observed is that buyers will always option themselves up plenty enough to make it profitable. But you have to get them in the door first!
If you can’t get the Journey back quickly, start by making a two row, four cylinder Durango. Cloth seats. Hand cranked windows. Manual locks. Two speaker stereo. They’ll only sell dozens of them, but that’ll get people in the door to have a look at this brand new SUV at used car pricing. They’ll come for the $28,000 Durango, but they’ll leave with the $48,000 Durango. Or even the $78,000 Durango.
I rented a Journey for a trip once. That thing was truly awful.
And yet you got to your destinations and survived. That, literally, is what most buyers are looking for first.
They’ll price themselves up to whatever level of comfort and sport they want, and that’s where the real money is made.
Instead, every auto maker has been looking at the tiny profit cheap cars they’ve sold as the loss of a high margin sale. Someone who buys a tiny profit cheap car was never going to buy a lux version in the first place.
The real lesson is that tiny profit sales are simply the volume that allows the higher priced vehicles to be produced in the quantity that allows them to have high margins.
Yup The Journey was a huge winner for those who needed a 3 row. And the incentives on them made it so you could almost always get a credit challenged buyer into one.
I have long respected the Journey for this reason. Is it a great car? No. But it’s a car, it seats 7, it sold within striking distance for just about any income level, and it could get you where you wanted to go and back pretty reliably. There are tons of high mileage ones out there soldiering on.
At the end of the day we need cars like that. The Journey was a working class hero, and for that reason I respect it…not to mention anyone who bought one wasn’t trying to flex or be someone they weren’t. They just needed an honest car to haul their family in for not a lot of money.
It’s a goddamn shame that stuff like the Journey doesn’t exist today.
The Mitsubishi Outlander used to be the king of this. Start at $24,000 and have versions that went all the way up to $45,000. Outlanders used to be everwhere after the 0/0/0 debacle and ’08 crash, and it’s because they were cheap but had tons of options. Dealers could get the base trim and ten variations in between that and the top trim, and they’d have all twelve sold by the end of the month.
The current master of this is Nissan with the Rogue. $27,000 starting price but a specialty Platinum AWD goes up to $52,000. And Nissan will throw financing at three gnomes in a trenchcoat trying to pay with acorns, so there’s no issue getting a loan for that $40,000 SV.
Having helped my MIL recently buy a Rogue, this. She got the fully loaded model platinum or whatever but they really helped most on our trades. Still a terrible experience, both with the buying and the Rogue itself, but it got her into a new car
Checking a couple local dealer sites, it looks like a Durango GT (after a $10k discount) can be had for around $40k. Unfortunately that counts as a fairly inexpensive new car these days, especially for a large-ish SUV. I’d argue the Journey is already there in that Durango.
Meanwhile, in France, you can buy a new Clio for 20k€.
This is the problem! Dodge/Chrysler and has absolutely failed so damn hard to provide the “Next Car” to all of their current customers.
Much to your insightful point, shockingly, I feel my own mother is an exact analogue for Stellantis’ target buyer, because she already has been her entire adult life
1st Car: old used Nova, total junker, she hated it.
2nd car: 1st gen Chryser/Dodge green van, bought used, when she needed to cheaply haul kids
3rd car: 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser (Purple with limited edition flames), bought brand new. She had some money, the kids were older, and she wanted some retro style
4th car: 2014 Journey SXT, V6, 3rd row, bought new. Bright orange, looks like the great pumpkin. She had more money, but now “needed” extra space to haul grandkids
5th car: 2023 Jeep Gladiator, bought slightly used, $43k, in higher lighter yellow.
Dodge/Chysler probably could have gotten her into a new 2nd gen Journey, or 4rd gen PT, but they were not getting her into a new Durango, not at those prices. Now, once’s she had her fun with the Jeep (or can no longer get into it) she’ll have to settle for a Hornet (which I will decry), or she’ll have to go to a competitor.
Dodge is easy to save. Sport all the things. Dodge is the Hooligan brand so lean into it!
Get rid of the Hornet and bring back the GLH in the form of a “Dodgified” Peugot 208 . It needs to have the interior of the Challenger. All Dodge’s need to have that style.
Dodge had a Caravan with a turbo engine in it. Bring that back!
Charger with Hemi or Hurricane 6
Viper!
The model range is:
GLH – Entry level (Hybrid)
Caravan Turbo – Family (Hybrid)
Challenger/Barracuda – Mustang fighter
Charger – Muscle car/traditional sedan
Durango – SUV (maybe a version of the Wagoneer)
Viper
Pontiac spins in their grave as Dodge continues to ride their old shtick into yet another economic recession
Yep. GM should’ve brought them back hen they had the chance.
Maybe raising the price of the Wrangler some more while simultaneously making it somehow more unreliable will help.
Maybe they can fit Powershift transmissions?
As long as angry-eye grilles are available and there is plenty of room for ducks on the dashboard.