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Stellantis unveiled its new electric and gas-powered Dodge Charger products Tuesday, but the company is still deciding how that will impact the size of the Windsor Assembly workforce where the cars will be built.
Sales of the Charger and Challenger, which is being shelved for now, reached nearly 130,000 units in 2023. Should those numbers continue once Dodge fully launches its collection of muscle car offerings, it would double the plant’s output.
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Windsor built over 130,000 Chrysler minivans in 2023 and Stellantis has repeatedly talked of its intent to return to three shifts shift at the plant with the addition of new products.
“That’s a CEO of the company question,” said Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis, when asked if more workers than originally expected would be needed for a third shift to produce both EV and ICE versions of the Charger models.
“But intuitively you have a plant making (internal combustion) engines and battery (powered) and EDMs (electric drive motors) and they’re not the same. Intuitively, I guess I got more people.”
Production of the first two, two-door electric Charger models will begin this summer, but Kuniskis said the first quarter of 2025 will see the launch of the four-door electric Charger, along with two- and four-door internal combustion engine models. At the same time, Dodge will add multiple power-level options in both the EVs and gas-powered vehicles for both the two- and four-door vehicles.
Before the end of 2025, Dodge will also launch the Charger SRT Banshee with two power levels.
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“I don’t know,” said Kuniskis when asked if there had been a timeline set for the addition of a third shift at Windsor. “I’m not involved (in those discussions).”
In the short term, the focus will be on the launch of the first all-electric muscle cars.
Kuniskis admits some emails have been rather nasty from the diehard motorheads wedded to the internal combustion history of the Charger and Challenger. However, he also senses an opening to expand the vehicle’s demographics.
“I think we’re in an unique situation,” Kuniskis said.
“When you look at the demographics of a Dodge buyer today, we have the youngest demo in the industry. If you look at, forget about just car brands, younger people are more open to the transition to electrification.
“Do I get hate emails from people saying I’ll never buy this, yeah, but I also get emails from people saying, ‘I was never going to buy your car. This is exciting.’”
By dressing the Charger in a familiar muscle-car package and being transparent about the company’s intentions in creating the next generation of Chargers over the past couple of years, Kuniskis is hoping it won’t be a leap too far for consumers.
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“We didn’t want another EV that looks like a melted jellybean,” Kuniskis said.
“One of the interesting things about this car is that when you look at it, you don’t see a hatchback.
“But when you open that liftgate, and you see (the seats folded flat), the usability and utility of this vehicle is unmatched by anything else out there. It’s a weird tweener space and it has standard all-wheel drive.”
Kuniskis feels Charger’s practicality and size may even help siphon off some consumers from the SUV sector.
“People buy utility vehicles today for command of seating, all-weather capability and the interior utility,” Kuniskis said. “This vehicle, you’ll get the interior utility and the all-weather capability, but you’re not going to get the command seating.
“You’re going to sacrifice the command seating for bad-ass looks.”
With still a few months to go until full production is launched, Dodge is still undecided on the price of the various Charger models. One thing Kuniskis did guarantee is that price will ensure the vehicle is profitable for Stellantis.
“We’re debating that very heatedly internally,” Kuniskis said.
“Obviously, the cost of a battery is huge. There is a (price) advantage there (for the internal combustion engine models).
“Leasing makes the equation much different.
“If I’m going to buy a $40,000 car or lease a $60,000 car, the payments are the same. It gets a little muddier then.”
Kuniskis confirmed that the company produced enough of last year’s Charger and Challenger models to ensure dealers would have enough inventory to carry them past the launch date of the new vehicle.
Dwaddell@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/winstarwaddell
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