New Dodge Chargers And Challengers Are Piling Up

For about the past year we’ve been warning that Stellantis is on a sales slide. There are probably several factors causing this, including new car sales in general cooling off. But Dodge seems to be suffering in particular, although Jeep and Ram aren’t too far behind, casting some serious doubt on the three brands and Stellantis’ future.

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There have been a number of YouTubers who have shown off how full Dodge, Jeep, and Ram dealer lots are these days. Some have gone a little viral and people act shocked to learn this. But we’ve also highlighted how what you don’t see is the hidden overflow lots of new cars these dealerships are hiding.

If we were gamblers, we’d be willing to bet a fair number of Stellantis dealers in the US are hiding at least a fair number of vehicles at some undisclosed, offsite location. After all, if a customer walks on the lot and sees the place absolutely bursting at the seams, the dealer has less negotiating power.

Keep that in mind as you see these videos circulate on social media – we’re sure more are to come. But we also can guarantee dealers carrying other brands are doing similar things as they too are struggling to see cars.

But why are Dodges, Jeeps, and Rams not selling? We think in part it’s because Stellantis got greedy, released a bunch of over-the-top models and trims that cost an arm and a leg, and now they’re stuck. After all, interest rates have climbed, layoffs are increasing, people are getting jittery about the economy, and the supply of new vehicles has rebounded.

Some think Dodge’s new approach of making non-V8 “muscle cars” will fix everything. We really wonder about that. Just look at how much the prices for Hellcats have soared in the past four years and you’ll see it’s not just how much it costs to build the vehicle but also the perception of demand that’s driven pricing strategies.

So why doesn’t Stellantis drop prices to move vehicles? That’s a question for top brass at the automaker and they’re not saying. If you look at sales figures for the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, it’s obvious people don’t have the appetite to slap down premium cash for one of their rides.

We’ve heard some dealers are more willing to wheel and deal than others, but don’t expect a Charger or Challenger to come cheap, even with the discount. Something is going to have to give and we’ll probably see sometime this year what that is.

Images via Stellantis

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