Watching the Dodge portion of the Stellantis EV Day is redemption for those of us that question why the company has made almost no effort to electrify its product lineup*.
Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis says in the video below that Dodge is finally going electric. It is one of the last major car brands to do so. The company has been quite anti-EV up to this point, and without any electrification, even a hybrid, there is little wonder why.
While the CEO confusingly says that Dodge “will not sell electric cars, they will sell American Muscle (with overlay saying eMuscle), the message is clear: Dodge engineers can’t make ICE go any faster, and the company, if it wants to keep up, has to go electric.
“If a charger can make a Charger Quicker, we’re in! …If we know of a technology that can give our customers an advantage, we are obligated to embrace it.”
The CEO went on to say that in 2024, Dodge will launch the “world’s first full battery electric muscle car,” even as the Mustang Mach-E has been in customers’ hands for over a year.
One thing to note in the video below is the red logo that looks a little like a flux capacitor. It is called a “Fratzog” (thanks commenters) and was used by the brand from 1962-1981.
Stellantis is the fourth-largest carmaker in the world and has some new skateboard platforms it hopes to roll out in the coming years.
Electrek’s take:
LOL. You love to see it.
Dodge is feebly trying to change the narrative here. Rather than be forced into a corner or even mention the climate ramifications of the company’s refusal to go electric, they paint the picture that electric is the upcoming evolution.
Keep in mind that, today, mortals are driving around a 1000+horsepower American made Tesla Model S Plaid that goes 0-60 in under 2 seconds.
The revolution was already televised
Dodge lost the American Muscle Car race the day the Tesla Model S was released almost a decade ago. With Ford’s Impressive Mustang Mach-E GT performance due later this year and its 3-second 0-60 times, it is feebly falling further and further behind.
Is Dodge doing this electrification from a position of power? Does it finally care about the environment? No. You can hear Dodge’s CEO brush off those climate concerns in the video above. He does end the pitch with the new Dodge “Tear up the streets, not the planet” moniker. But again, way too little, way too late. The earth is on fire and Dodge will be producing 12mpg Hellcats for at least 3 more years.
Dodge is backed into a corner here. EVs are eating up ICE engines for breakfast. Tesla’s (and Ford’s) SUVs are already as fast as any sports car Dodge can produce. Even the mid-sized Model 3 Performance sedan puts the 12 mpg Hellcat to shame. It has been beyond obvious that ICE is over for quite some time.
All of this said, and if Dodge is still around in 2024, we wish them the best of luck with their EV. It looks pretty cool in this concept video.
As an astute commenter put it below, “They’re helping change the narrative around EVs being “not cool” and not masculine enough for the meathead who wants a Charger or a Challenger.”
* Update: I should have known this but some social commenters have pointed out a little known piece of Dodge’s history that *Could* have sent them on a similar path as Tesla. In 2009 as Tesla was putting out very limited numbers of its Lotus-based Roadsters, Dodge also built a 200kW Lotus -based EV called …wait for it… the Dodge EV. It was Lithium battery-based, super sporty and had a solid range of 150-200 miles!
The Dodge EV concept car, also called Dodge Circuit EV sports car, was a two-passenger, rear-wheel-drive, all-electric sports car shown to the public at the 2009 North American International Auto Show by Dodge. The car was based on the Lotus Europa S, and combined a lithium-ion battery pack with a 200-kilowatt electric motor, capable of generating 268 bhp (200 kW) and 480 lbf⋅ft (651 N⋅m) of torque. Dodge claimed that the Dodge EV had a driving range of 150 to 200 miles (240–320 km), approaching the range and performance of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, which is built on the same chassis. According to Dodge, the Dodge EV could be recharged in eight hours using a standard 110-volt outlet, or in only four hours using a 220-volt outlet, the type commonly used for electric ovens and dryers. Dodge unveiled the working prototypes of this all-electric vehicle and announced plans to bring it to market in the United States by 2010. But in May 2009 Autocar claimed the project was cancelled and in November Fiat SpA disbanded Chrysler’s ENVI electric car division and dropped its models from future product plans.
Maybe the biggest mistake in the company’s now shortened history? Time will tell.
Some stills from today’s video below:
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