Dodge CEO confident Windsor-built Dodge Charger expands market appeal

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DETROIT, MICH. — With the new Windsor-built Dodge Charger Daytona car hitting dealer showrooms this week, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear doesn’t mind making traditionalist muscle car enthusiasts a touch uncomfortable with an electric version.

“We’ve had the vehicle in showrooms for two days and we’ve already recorded our first sales,” McAlear told the Star in an interview Friday at the Detroit Auto Show.

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“We’re redefining what performance is, changing the vehicle they’re used to. Quite frankly, we’re making some people uncomfortable.

“Dodge has always been very bold, unapologetic and unique in what we stand for. We’re kind of comfortable with 90 per cent of the people thinking we’re a little out there, off the wall, a little crazy and not right for them.

“We know exactly who we are and what we stand for whether it’s bold colours, best-in-class performance or best-in-class capability.”

McAlear said Stellantis has gone to great lengths to make the Charger look, drive and sound like a muscle car. He expects consumers, when they get a chance to see and drive it in person, will realize it’s not what they expected.

“People think they don’t want to like it, but they show up and see it, sit in it and experience it and it’s — ‘Wow!’” McAlear said.

“A few years ago, when we launched the first four-door Charger, people thought we were crazy. That’s sacrilegious. That’s a two-door muscle car.

“This isn’t the first time people have had to adapt to a new level of technology.”

However, Stellantis isn’t abandoning the traditionalists in the ‘brotherhood of muscle.’

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The company will have two- and four-door gas-powered versions of the Daytona available in the second half of 2025 with standard (426 horsepower) and high-output (550 horsepower) engine options.

Those “Six Pack” models will feature the Hurricane Inline-6, twin-turbo power plant.

Stellantis will also launch its four-door battery electric model in the second quarter of 2025.

“That’s what’s exciting with the multi-energy platform, that we can respond to different demands at different times and meet the demand of both ICE and EV technology,” McAlear said. “We can adapt as the industry changes.”

The significance of the Charger launch to Stellantis can’t be understated. It’s the first fully battery-electric vehicle the company has produced in North America.

The flagship muscle car was put through the ringer in test production at Windsor Assembly and its original launch date pushed back months to ensure the completely redesigned body, platform and power train were ready to undergo the scrutiny it would attract.

McAlear said Windsor Assembly was a natural site to place the company’s trust based on its experience producing the Pacific Hybrid.

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“The Windsor plant has been a great partner for about 100 years now,” McAlear said. “The oldest plant in the company.

“They showed in their performance building the Pacifica Hybrid they understood multi-energy platforms.”

The passion for Dodge’s muscle cars was evident in the fact that, despite the Charger and now-discontinued Challenger both having been out of production for more than a year, Stellantis sold a combined 61,000 vehicles from old inventory in 2024. That far outpaced the Ford Mustang (44,000).

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McAlear believes the redesigned Charger will have a broader appeal.

“This specific vehicle opens us up to a lot of consumers we haven’t talked to in the past,” said McAlear, who noted there was a focus on increasing comfort, capability and utility.

“If you look at the two-door Charger we’re launching, that has more rear-seat leg room and comfort than the outgoing four-door Charger and the two-door coupe.

“Capabilities, standard all-wheel drive with 670 horsepower, now we start talking to a new group of consumers who love these vehicles but maybe it wasn’t right for their market because of weather and climate.

“Then, look at utility vehicle-like capability with a hidden hatch design and fold-flat seats. It’s about 132 per cent bigger than the outgoing car.

“This starts becoming a daily car for a lot of people that maybe the old generation of muscle cars weren’t right for.”

Dwaddell@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/winstarwaddell

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