A Dodge dealer believes the Charger Daytona shouldn’t cost nearly twice as much as an entry-level Tesla
from Brad Anderson
August 24, 2024 at 16:30
- Ford and GM have no electric competitors for 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 level costing $73,190.
- Dodge has not yet announced pricing for the twin-turbo six-cylinder models planned for next year.
Dodge’s new CEO, Matt McAlear, who succeeded Tim Kuniskis in June, is convinced that with the new Charger Daytona, the brand can persuade some buyers of traditional muscle cars to switch to electric drive while also attracting new customers to the brand.
Building and selling ordinary sedans, crossovers and SUVs to consumers who just want to drive a reliable car that will get them from point A to point B is a difficult feat for some automakers. Trying to convince performance-hungry muscle car fans that they should buy an expensive electric vehicle is a whole different challenge, and yet Dodge believes it can do it.
Poll: Would you buy a Dodge Charger EV, a base Corvette or a Mustang Dark Horse for $70,000?
When speaking with Car NewsMcAlear mentioned that pricing the electric Charger similar to the older ICE models should ease the transition. Earlier this month, Dodge announced the new model would start at $59,995, with the flagship version costing $73,190.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to get people into the showroom to see 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 make the transition between a discontinued model and a new one. Look at it from the consumer’s perspective: ‘What am I getting for the money? Why do I want to look at it, why do I want to test drive it?'”
“We never copied the Camaro and Mustang from a pony car perspective, we focused on muscle cars and straight-line performance,” he added. “That’s where we’re successful. No one else is bringing something like that to market, and that’s where we can differentiate ourselves. Then our fans realize that we’re helping them express their personality and be what they want to be.”
However, not everyone is convinced. Michael Harrington, CEO of Huntington Beach Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, thinks the electric charger is too expensive and is skeptical about whether it will be able to attract customers.
Read: Dodge dealers are excited that the 2024 Charger will offer both an electric and combustion engine
“I really thought they were going to come out with this nice pricing plan,” he told Auto News. “You can buy a Tesla now for $30,000, so $300 a month. We double the price? That’s just not going to work. To attract new customers with the new tech and the new look and all that, I would have thought they would have been more aggressive with the pricing of the electric vehicle.”
Dodge has not yet announced pricing for the twin-turbocharged, six-cylinder versions of the Charger, which will be available in coupe and sedan form in the first quarter of next year, but Harrington is eagerly awaiting delivery of those models and hopes they will be more affordable then.
