Gas-powered Charger, Challenger to be discontinued
Aug. 16—Dodge will soon discontinue its gas-powered Charger and Challenger vehicles, according to multiple reports, as its parent company Stellantis continues to focus on electrification.
The automaker announced recently that the 2023 models will be the last for the V8 powered muscle cars before being replaced by all electric models starting in 2024.
"The days of an iron block supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 are numbered," Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis told CNBC in January of 2021, referring to engines like those in the Hellcat. "But the performance that those vehicles generate is not numbered."
The iconic muscle cars are going out in style, though.
Dodge is having a blowout celebration for both models with a slew of special editions and options, along with the installation of a commemorative "Last Call" badge under the hood of every 2023 vehicle.
Six new versions of the pair are set to be introduced in the coming weeks with a seventh debuting at the SEMA auto show in Las Vegas in November. No details on any of them have been released, but contrary to years past, Dodge will allocate the '23 Chargers and Challengers to dealers all at once instead of making orders available throughout the year.
Dodge will provide customers with a guide to locate specific models at each dealership.
Kuniskis said the process is meant to assist customers in getting the specific vehicle they want.
"We wanted to make sure we were celebrating these cars properly," Kuniskis said during a media briefing for an event this week in Pontiac, Michigan.
Kuniskis has alluded that the Charger and Challenger names could be used for future EV vehicles.
