- Ford and GM lack electric rivals to the Charger Daytona, which Dodge sees as a win for buyers.
- The base price for the electric muscle car is $59,995, with the highest trim costing $73,190.
- Dodge has yet to release pricing for the twin-turbo six-cylinder models scheduled for next year.
Dodge’s new chief executive Matt McAlear, who succeeded Tim Kuniskis in June, believes the brand can lure some traditional muscle car buyers to switch to electric power with the new Charger Daytona, while also attracting new customers to the brand.
Building and selling run-of-the-mill sedans, crossovers, and SUVs to consumers who simply want to drive something reliable that can get them from A to B is proving hard for some car manufacturers. Trying to convince power-hungry muscle car enthusiasts that they should buy an expensive EV is another challenge entirely and yet, Dodge thinks it can pull it off.
Poll: For $70K, Would You Buy A Dodge Charger EV, Base Corvette Or Mustang Dark Horse?
While speaking with Auto News, McAlear mentioned that pricing the electric Charger similarly to the older ICE models should facilitate the transition. Earlier this month, Dodge announced that the new model would start at $59,995, with the flagship version reaching $73,190.
“I think there’s a compelling opportunity to bring people in the showroom, to look at this new technology and experience this new technology and see what it can do for them and why they can fall in love with it,” McAlear said. “You’re always trying to transition between an outgoing model and an incoming model. Look at it in the consumer’s eyes: ‘What do I get for the money? Why do I want to go and look at it, why do I want to test drive it?’”
“We never went after Camaro and Mustang from a pony car standpoint, we went out with muscle cars and straight-line performance,” he added. “That’s where we win. No one else is bringing anything like this to market, so that’s when we can stand out. That’s when our fans recognize that we’re helping them show off their personalities and what they want to be.”
Not everyone is convinced, though. Michael Harrington, the general manager of Huntington Beach Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, believes the electric Charger is too pricey and expresses skepticism about its ability to attract customers.
Read: Dodge Dealers Thrilled That 2024 Charger Offers Both EV And ICE
“I really thought they were going to come out with this nice price plan,” he told Auto News. “You can buy a Tesla now for [$30,000], $300 a month. We’re going to double the price? Just not going to work. To get the new customer with the new tech and the new look and all that, I would have thought they would have come out more aggressively in pricing for the EV.”
Dodge has not yet announced prices for the twin-turbocharged six-cylinder versions of the Charger that will arrive in the first quarter of next year in both coupe and sedan forms, but Harrington is eager to start receiving these models and is hopeful they will be more affordable.
