Dodge Charger rollout underway, Pursuit police package launch by end of 2025

Amid the turmoil at Stellantis, the niche Dodge brand is rolling out new vehicles and dares anyone to stop it. The assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario, is building the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona electric muscle car now. The Charger rollout starts with the two-door 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T with 496 hp, 404 lb-ft of torque and the more powerful $75,185, 670-hp Scat Pack, both with EV powertrains.

In the first half of 2025, Dodge will add the four-door electric Daytonas. Then in the second half of 2025, look for the two-and four-door Charger Sixpacks with the Hurricane twin-turbo inline-six gasoline engine. In 2026, Dodge adds the SRT Banshee which is a battery electric performance car billed as the quickest and baddest; the ICE models are the entry level muscle cars but still boast 426 and 550 horsepower.

The cadence is only slightly behind schedule. Dodge originally wanted to have the BEVs in the marketplace by fall, but it got pushed back a few months to the last quarter of the year to ensure a quality launch, says Matt McAlear, Dodge brand CEO. McAlear started driving a production model months ago and says the vehicle has attracted a lot of attention. Since then Dodge has finalized the software updates, and started building production vehicles for shipment to dealers.

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Sounds good to me

McAlear likes the Daytona’s synthetic soundtrack, known as “Fratzonic chambered exhaust.” It puts a smile on your face and makes you have fun driving it, he says. If you don’t like it or need to be quiet to take a phone call or leave your home early in the morning without waking the neighbors, you can turn it off. The sound gets louder depending on the drive mode selected. McAlear says he has had the car around people who had a Hellcat engine and most agree it is OK to like it or turn if off — personal preference. The Dodge team knew they could not mimic the V-8 and just pipe in the sound of a Hellcat — that would be sacrilegious. No sound is also wrong because it’s a muscle car. So, they developed something unique with undertones of a V-8 firing pattern, aiming to be comforting and futuristic, cool but not over the top, with Hellcat decibel levels. It changes with throttle input to better connect the driver to the car as you accelerate, deemed imperative for a muscle car.

Pursuit police packages in the works

Dodge is working on police packages for the future but no timeline yet, McAlear says. Dodge still offers the Pursuit model of the Durango SUV. A Dodge Charger Pursuit concept was shown at a law enforcement show a few months ago and the reaction was overwhelming, he says. Stellantis is working with the California Highway Patrol and Michigan State Police to discuss their needs and there is still a lot of testing to do. The timeline will depend on what they want and how much of a tear-up that requires. It won’t happen in the first half of the year, but potentially by the end of 2025, depending on how much modification is needed.

The automaker saw a big surge in fleet sales to police with the outgoing Charger before it was discontinued and there is still a lot of interest in the Durango Pursuit.

Durango still alive and powered by Hemi

Despite its age, McAlear is a fan of the Durango and its platform, saying it continues to fill a need in the marketplace and is cross-shopped against larger vehicles because of its towing capability and performance. The Durango will continue to evolve, he says. They are always looking at buzz models and different packages to keep it fresh.

Dodge says the Durango SRT Hellcat, with the 710-hp supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi Hellcat V-8, will continue into 2025, as will the Durango R/T with the 5.7-liter Hemi. McAlear would not say if plans are to stop making the Durango in the near future and replace it with the Stealth as a new SUV on a STLA platform capable of multiple powertrains.

No extended-range Dodges

It does not sound like there are plans to give the Durango an extended-range powertrain like the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger fullsize pickup where the gasoline engine acts like a generator for the electric motors, giving it long range. No plans for EREVs for Dodge have been announced and the Ramcharger is on the STLA Frame platform while Dodge currently uses the STLA Large platform which may not be set up to accommodate extended-range plug-in hybrids.

Dodge also has the Hornet, which has had a few record sales months to close out the year. McAlear says customers are pretty much evenly split between the Hornet RT plug-in hybrid which customers tend to lease and gain a $7,000 tax rebate, and the Hornet GT with its internal combustion engine.

Are there gaps in the small lineup that McAlear would like to fill? Dodge is known for muscle cars, which it will now be able to offer with multiple powertrains, and the Durango, the CEO says. Now the brand also has the Hornet. To expand the lineup, it must be true to Dodge meaning it must focus on performance and be bold and brash. It doesn’t make sense to add products just to add products, even though Dodge has a small portfolio.

Even with its limited lineup, McAlear is confident the brand will survive and the automaker continues to invest in new platform and iterations. Dodge is on pace for where it set out to be, he says. The brand is 110 years old and has no intention of stopping now.