(Bloomberg) -- Stellantis NV’s Dodge brand has gone through a lot of change in the past decade, from churning out minivans and family sedans to brawny muscle cars that menace American highways.
Now the century-old brand is taking a step into the electric age, starting with the Dodge Hornet, a sporty crossover aimed at the biggest segment of the US car market. The compact SUV will be priced under $30,000 and start shipping to dealers by year-end, with a plug-in hybrid version coming in spring.
The Hornet is Dodge’s first new model in nearly a decade. One of 14 vehicle brands owned by Stellantis, the automaker formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group last year, it had been whittled down to a performance line with just three nameplates. Now it’s getting an influx of resources and a shot at reinvention under Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares, who has pledged to give each marque a chance to prove itself.
To do that, Dodge’s CEO Tim Kuniskis is broadening the lineup with performance-oriented crossovers. While it’s not following some peers by going all-electric right away, the gradual shift aims to prep Dodge’s loyal base of gearheads for a battery-powered muscle car that runs on lithium ions, not pumping pistons and roaring exhaust pipes.
“We can’t wake up in 2024 and say, ‘Hey, great news! We’re going electric!’” Kuniskis said last week at the company’s US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. “We needed to walk people down that path of how we were going to do that, and what our plan was going to be.”
The Hornet is the first new product in that plan. Made in Italy with a platform borrowed from Stellantis’s premium Alfa Romeo badge, it has muscular curves, a coupe-like roof and all-wheel-drive that comes standard. The plug-in version, which offers 285 horsepower and 30 miles of electric range, has a “Powershot” button that delivers an extra jolt on demand.
Kuniskis is betting that performance features and styling will help the Hornet stand out in a crowded segment ruled by the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Chevy Equinox. Instead of the “price, value and fuel economy” shoppers typically prioritize in the mainstream compact crossover segment, Dodge is serving “power, acceleration” and a vehicle that’s “fun to drive,” he said.
Stellantis is using electrification to enhance Dodge’s identity as a performance brand, just like Jeep markets the hybrid Wrangler for quiet off-roading, said Stephanie Brinley, an analyst at IHS Markit.
“They’ve been really good at executing the brands’ needs” she said. “That doesn’t mean their market share is suddenly going to overtake everyone else’s, but it does mean loyalty with consumers will be incredibly high, and gives them an opportunity to create more image, more buzz around themselves.”
The tougher feat will be replacing the Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars, which will cease production in December 2023 ahead of a new electric muscle car due in 2024, Stellantis said this week.
For years, Dodge has pumped out Challengers and Chargers with Hemi V-8 engines and retro styling from the 1970s. The base models, priced slightly above $30,000, fit a working-class budget, while souped up nameplates like Demon, Redeye, Hellcat and Jailbreak retail from $60,000 to $80,000, and some even top $100,000.
“These are cash cows,” said Jeff Schuster, president for the Americas at researcher LMC Automotive. “Margins are great because they haven’t sunk a lot into the platforms and development.”
While upping horsepower each year appealed to customers and helped the automaker juice profits, it was a drag on fuel economy. In 2020, Stellantis’s US vehicle fleet ranked last at an average of 21.8 miles per gallon, compared with an industrywide average of 25.4.
Tightening emissions regulations and soaring battery prices for EVs will force Dodge to figure out a new formula for profitability, while keeping its appeal to diehard muscle fans. That’s a transition the brand is just beginning, Brinley said.
“When you have a brand that has history, it’s something you can’t escape -- you do have to work with it,” she said. “The ones that work with it well will evolve it in a way that you bring your consumers along, so they still love you at the end of the day.”
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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