America’s pony car segment continues to be competitive between Ford Motor Company (FoMoCo) and Dodge. Last year, the Challenger dethroned the Mustang as America’s best-selling pony car last year. A title that FoMoCo held since 2015 when the current S550 Mustang was launched and outsold the Chevrolet Camaro for the first time since 2010.
Detroit’s Big-3 released their Q3 results this past week, and 2022 looks to be a continuation of last year’s battle between the Challenger and Mustang.
After the mid-point of the year, the Mustang held a very slim 562 unit lead over the Challenger. But it didn’t stop Dodge from racking in sales during Q3, securing 16,412 units sold. That pushed the retro-themed muscle car to a 6,058 unit increase over the Mustang’s quarter results of 10,354 units.
So far, that puts the Challenger in the overall lead with 42,094 units, compared to the Mustang’s 36,598 units.
Sitting in a very distant third, was the Camaro. Chevrolet reported only selling 7,922 units during Q3, bringing the Camaro’s total to 19,177 units so far in 2022. That means that the Camaro even trails the mid-engined Corvette C8 in sales, as the Corvette has had 25,380 units leave U.S. dealers.
Since August, both FoMoCo and Dodge have held unveilings showing where both brands plan on taking their next-generation products going into 2024.
Dodge introduced its all-electric Charger Daytona SRT Banshee Concept, just before the Woodward Dream Cruise. The car was a preview of where Dodge plans on taking its next-generation muscle cars with electrified 800-volt power, going into 2024.
Ford, on the other hand, showed off its 2024 Ford Mustang S650, which will retain turbocharged four-cylinder and naturally-aspirated V8 power at the Detroit Auto Show. As for the Camaro, 2023 looks to be its last year on the market. Rumors have been surrounding that GM could replace it with an all-electric sedan.
Speaking of sedans, the Dodge Charger showed that four-door muscle cars are still popular selling 24,201 units during Q3. That puts the total of Charger sales in the U.S. at 62,660 units.
