Dodge reportedly accelerates the launch of the ICE-powered Charger as consumer demand and changing market conditions force the brand to alter plans for the model.
Dodge confirms it’s accelerating the launch of the ICe-Powered Charger six-pack with the company saying it will be out this summer.
Dodge is going all-in on electric vehicles with the Charger Daytona EV serving as a very potent example of the brand’s plans in action. However, changing market conditions have caused EV demand to slide and a large number of Dodge’s customers still want access to combustion-powered vehicles with a few of them still upset at Dodge for moving away from the Hemi V8.
The brand is now adjusting its launch plans for the Charger with Stellantis reps at the recent National Auto Dealers Association Conference in New Orleans confirming it’s fast-tracking plans for the ICE-powered Six Pack model with the first wave of these models potentially reaching showrooms this summer.
ICE-powered Charger a nod to changing times
Changing market conditions and strong demand from customers prompted Dodge and Stellantis to make the move which comes at a time when Stellantis really needs sales.
Stellantis’s change comes as the company is going through rough waters with things reaching a crescendo when former CEO Carlos Tavares abruptly resigned late last year. As for the Charger, both the EV and its ICE-powered counterpart debuted in March of 2024 but emphasis was placed on the EV to try and get that out to the market first with the EV originally slated to arrive last summer before its timeline was moved up.
The Six-Pack is supposed to supplement the EV in the lineup and it was originally supposed to debut long after the Charger Daytona. However, this changed timeline indicates that Stellantis is responding to changing market conditions with the company’s ongoing troubles magnifying the importance of the Six-Pack’s accelerated timeline as Dodge attempts to regain customers while also reversing a slide in sales which accelerated when the previous generation Charger and Challenger models left the market.
More Dodge Stories
- First Drive: 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona – Who Needs a Hemi?
- The Shake-Up Accelerates at Stellantis as Kuniskis Returns, More Moves in the Works
- Dodge Teases Next-Generation Charger Pursuit Model
Tariffs might create roadblock
The accelerated timeline for the ICe-powered Six-Pack model seems straightforward but tariffs and the task of convincing jilted customers to give the smaller inline motor a chance might throw a wrench in things.
While it’s good to see Dodge responding to consumer demand with this accelerated timeline, some of these changing market conditions might create a very large pothole for Dodge and Stellantis. One of these changing factors are proposed tariffs that President Trump is threatening to levy on imported goods from Canada and Mexico. The Charger is produced at Stellantis’s Windsor Assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario Canada. If Canada is subject to the 25% tariff this would force Stellantis to raise Charger prices since these vehicles have to be formally imported into the United States. This price increase would be passed onto customers and put pressure on Stellantis at a time when it doesn’t need it.
In addition to tariffs potentially putting a wrench in its plans, Dodge and Stellantis also face the unenviable task of trying to get V8 fans to embrace a smaller inline-six engine for their ICE performance needs. This twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six is the only gasoline engine available and comes with either 420 or 550 hp which is a healthy amount for an inline engine. However, the V8 in all of its forms managed to build up a strong pool of loyalty and many of these customers felt jilted when the company axed them all in the name of fuel economy. Putting in a V8 is also not possible since Dodge recently admitted that the Charger’s platform would require extensive revisions to the platform and the design in order to make it all work.
0 Comments