The Dodge Challenger has pulled off a surprising upset as the aging model has outsold the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.
According to FCA, Dodge sold 18,031 Challengers in the third quarter and this was a 21% increase from last year. It wasn’t good news for Chevy or Ford as both automakers saw third quarter declines in the United States.
At Ford, Mustang sales dropped 12.3% from a year ago to 16,823 units. Likewise, Camaro sales fell 15% as the automaker was only able to move 12,275 units.
Also Read: Despite Being 11 Years Old, The Dodge Challenger Is Outselling The Camaro
While the Challenger won this round, it will have an uphill battle to unseat the Mustang as this year’s most popular muscle car. Ford has sold 55,365 Mustangs since the beginning of the year and that’s a significant lead over the Challenger’s 46,699 units. Chevrolet is a distant third as they’ve only sold 36,791 Camaros in the United States this year.
While the Challenger was up for the quarter, year-to-date sales were down 11% from 2018. It’s a similar story at Chevrolet and Ford as Camaro sales are off 7.6% for the year and Mustang sales are down 10.1%.
It remains unclear what’s behind the upset, but Dodge has previously credited some of the Challenger’s success to having an adventurous color palette and a roomy interior. The model is also the only muscle car that offers all-wheel drive and a standard V6 engine. Of course, it also helps that Dodge continues to roll out special editions and high-performance variants such as the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye.
