- Dodge is dropping gas-powered Challenger and Charger muscle cars in 2023 as it transitions to EVs.
- It will release seven special edition "heritage-influenced" models to say goodbye.
- Dodge owner Stellantis said in 2021 it would invest $35.5 billion in EVs through 2025.
Dodge is dropping its iconic gas-powered Charger and Challenger muscle cars from 2023 as it shifts towards electric vehicles.
"The Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger, in current form, are coming to an end," Dodge said Monday.
The automaker simultaneously announced a forthcoming lineup of seven gas-powered "heritage-influenced" commemorative models for 2023, saying it was "seizing the opportunity to celebrate in true, over-the-top Dodge style."
Tim Kuniskis, Dodge CEO, said: "We are celebrating the end of an era — and the start of a bright new electrified future — by staying true to our brand." He hinted that the Challenger and Charger names could reappear on electrified versions of the future.
The Challenger was the best-selling muscle car in the US in 2021, with sales of 54,314 units, edging out the Ford Mustang, which sold 52,384 units.
In July 2021, Stellantis, Dodge's owner, said it planned to invest $35.5 billion in EVs through by 2025. It's seeking to keep pace with rivals such as General Motors and Ford as they race to capitalize on the growing market for EVs.
Dodge said Monday that its seven-car commemorative lineup for 2023 would feature "the return of a rainbow of heritage colors, an expansion of SRT Jailbreak models," and "a new, customer-focused vehicle allocation process."
Each model "will share a connection to an iconic Dodge model from the past, reaching back to the dawn of the muscle-car era in the 1960s and 1970s," Dodge said.
The special edition Chargers and Challengers will come with commemorative brushed aluminium "Last Call" plaques under their hoods featuring the vehicle name and its silhouette, Dodge said.
Details for six of these models will be revealed "later this year," with the seventh and final to be unveiled at the 2022 Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas in early November, the company said.
The cars will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis "at top-selling Dodge dealerships," and will be allocated to these dealerships all at once, Dodge added.
Stellantis said Monday it's built 3 million Dodge vehicles at its Brampton assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, since it launched the modern-day Charger in 2005.
Stellantis said in July 2021 it would offer an electric Dodge muscle car by 2024.