The Ford Mustang has officially been crowned as America’s best-selling muscle car for the 2023 calendar year, snatching the title away from the Dodge Challenger and easily eclipsing the sales of the Chevrolet Camaro.
Sales data published by Ford reveals that a total of 48,605 Mustangs were sold last year. This represents a 2.2% increase over the 47,556 that were sold last year. The fourth quarter proved to be particularly strong for the Mustang with 13,290 examples sold, a 21.2% rise from the 10,968 units that were sold in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The strong final quarter, and demand for the new seven-generation Mustang, proved key in the Ford usurping the Dodge. The latter managed to sell 44,960 Challengers last year, 18% fewer than the 55,060 that it shifted in 2022. Sales fell particularly significantly in Q4 from 12,966 in Q4 2022 to 9,610 units last quarter as the firm bid farewell to the current model, officially ending production on December 22.
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It’s not just the Dodge Challenger as we know it that has been killed off. Chevrolet produced the final sixth-generation Camaro in mid-December but it did not sell as well in its final model year as the Challenger. The carmaker managed to deliver 31,028 units and while they significantly trailed both the Challenger and Mustang, it did represent an impressive 25.9% improvement over the 24,652 deliveries that were made in 2022.
With the Challenger and Camaro as we know them now dead, Ford will have the muscle car space all to its own. This won’t last forever as Dodge has confirmed the Charger will morph into a two-door liftback offered as a BEV and apparently, also with a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six. While it is unclear if the Challenger will also be revived, Dodge isn’t completely abandoning the muscle car. The same likely can’t be said about the Camaro as it is expected to be revived as an electric sedan and perhaps even a crossover.
