Dodge Pitches Muscle-Car Fans on EVs as It Looks to Retire Challenger, Charger Models

On Wednesday evening, Dodge unveiled a new all-electric concept car aimed at showcasing its replacement for the Challenger and Charger, which will be discontinued at the end of 2023.

The reveal signals a new direction for the 122-year-old brand, known for producing high-horsepower cars used for drag racing and supercharged V8 engines with names such as Hellcat and Demon. The forthcoming EV—expected to go on sale in 2024—will be the brand’s first fully electric model.

Tim Kuniskis,

Dodge’s chief executive, said as the car company moves to electrify its global lineup, it will have to acclimate some longtime customers to the benefits of EVs.

“We can’t wake up in 2024 and tell everybody, ‘Hey, great news. We went electric,’” Mr. Kuniskis said.

In a nod to the brand’s racing heritage, Dodge is calling the EV concept car the Charger Daytona SRT, after the vehicle that first broke 200 miles an hour on a Nascar track in 1970. The brand also has outfitted the concept car with a synthetic exhaust tone that is meant to emulate the thunderous roar of its gas-engine muscle cars.

Like other car companies, Dodge parent

Stellantis

STLA -1.90%

NV has laid out ambitious plans to add more electric vehicles to its showrooms. It plans to spend $35 billion in the coming years on its EV transition, an investment that it says is being driven in part by tougher environmental regulations in the U.S., Europe and China.

By 2030, Stellantis wants to convert half of its U.S. sales to battery-powered models. That will include the debut of an all-electric Jeep SUV next year and a battery-powered version of its full-size Ram pickup in 2024. Alfa Romeo, a luxury vehicle maker, plans to go all-electric by 2027, followed by the Chrysler brand in 2028.

Still, for Dodge and other makers of sports cars, the transition to EVs is a trickier challenge. That is because the allure of their models mostly resides in the power and performance of the engine. Some, like the Chrysler-developed Hemi engine, have become recognized names in themselves.

At the same time, the popularity of gas-guzzling models like the Challenger and Charger are dragging down Stellantis’s average fuel-economy rating, which has long lagged behind competitors. That has resulted in the car maker having to pay fines for failing to meet certain environmental regulatory requirements.

In July, Stellantis said in a regulatory filing that it had set aside $685.5 million in anticipation of penalties for falling short of fuel-economy standards in the U.S.

“The transition to electric is going to be important, and I don’t know that we will still have those same buyers,” said John Morrill, who owns a dealership in Massachusetts that sells the Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Chrysler brands.

He said muscle cars attract a very specific kind of old-school customer and getting the shift to electrics right will be critical because the brand’s lineup is already narrow. Dodge currently sells only three models.

The Challenger and Charger accounted for nearly 62% of the brand’s U.S. sales in 2021. The third model is the Durango SUV.

Dodge’s move is the latest in a broader shift under way in the muscle-car market, a category defined by large, growling engines and vehicles that make their presence known as much with sound as speed.

Auto makers mostly withdrew from this niche category during the 2008-09 recession, leaving only a handful of muscle-car models on the market today, said Tyson Jominy, an analyst with research firm J.D. Power. Consumer tastes have also shifted, away from big-engine sports cars and more toward SUVs that have greater utility, he said.

“Muscle cars are not able to adapt to people’s changing lifestyles,” Mr. Jominy added.

U.S. sales of the Chevy Camaro, a rival muscle-car model, have tumbled nearly 70% in the past five years to just below 22,000 in 2021, according to industry research firm Wards Intelligence. Ford Mustang sales in the U.S. are down roughly 50% during the same period, the firm’s data show.

The Challenger and Charger have fared better, with U.S. sales holding steady before the pandemic and slipping 15% between 2019 and 2021, the result of a broader inventory shortage in the car business.

Stellantis Chief Executive

Carlos Tavares

has said that Dodge is being prepared for full electrification. In addition to the EV concept, Dodge showed off a new compact SUV this week called the Hornet that will be offered as both a traditional gas-engine vehicle and a plug-in hybrid. Dodge said orders for the Hornet open this week, with deliveries to dealerships to start later this year.

Some auto makers have had success in converting well-known nameplates to electric.

Ford Motor Co.

took a risk in applying its famed Mustang logo to a new all-electric SUV, but that model, the Mustang Mach-E, has been a hot seller.

Some Dodge dealers say muscle-car buyers are more selective, because for them it isn’t only about the engine but also how the car looks, sounds and drives, as well as the performance it can deliver.

“I don’t think they’ll go easily into an EV,” said Jay Holcomb, general manager of a Dodge dealership in St. George, Utah. He said that for some enthusiasts, the attributes unique to combustion-engine cars will be difficult to replicate in an electric vehicle.

Mr. Kuniskis said he understands that Dodge may not win over all its current buyers with an EV. But with its forthcoming model, it is trying to preserve the design, feel and power of its current Dodge muscle cars as much as possible, he added.

“I want to bring all of them,” he said, of Dodge’s current Challenger and Charger fans. “I know I won’t, but I want to bring all of them over to this new technology.”

Write to Ryan Felton at [email protected]