Dodge’s Electric Gamble: Charger Daytona EV Needs a Price Cut

High Sticker Price May Shock Potential Buyers...

Robert S. Miller January 17, 2025

2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack Stage 2 in After Dark. (Dodge).

Dodge’s Charger Daytona electric vehicle (EV) is cruising into a pricing pothole that could derail its eMuscle car dreams. Starting at $57,995 for the R/T and $64,995 for the Scat Pack (not including destination fees), the Charger Daytona is asking buyers to shell out serious cash for the privilege of owning an electric muscle car. Sure, it’s got some impressive specs—up to 670 horsepower in the Scat Pack and a 0-to-60 time as quick as 3.3 seconds—but let’s be real, you can get similar performance for less elsewhere.

Take the Tesla Model 3 Performance, for example. It’s quicker to 60 mph, has a longer range, and costs less than the base Charger Daytona. Even the Hyundai IONIQ 6, while not as powerful, offers a better range and a much friendlier price point. Both of these cars are much smaller than the Charger Daytona. However, these are the cars EV buyers are cross-shopping against the Charger Daytona.

Dodge’s current strategy feels like it’s trying to drift through the EV market with the emergency brake on. The brand needs a radical rethink:

Price Reduction Strategy –

Cut base pricing by $5,000 to $7,000
Introduce more affordable trim levels
Create more transparent incentive programs

Market Positioning –

Emphasize unique muscle car heritage
Highlight performance over pure practicality
Target enthusiasts willing to pay for exclusivity

The EV landscape is unforgiving. Unfortunately for Dodge, it’s a double-edged sword for the Daytona. Muscle car diehards hate that it’s an EV and not powered by a HEMI® V8, while EV diehards hate that it’s not EV enough. Consumers want a perfect blend of performance, range, and value, no matter their demographic.

Dodge has a unique opportunity to electrify the muscle car segment, but it will need to shift gears on its pricing approach. The road to EV success requires more than just raw power—it demands smart financial engineering.

The Daytona has a lot going for it—unique styling, muscle car heritage, and the novelty of being the only mass-market electric coupe. But in today’s competitive EV market, price matters. Dodge needs to find a way to make the Charger Daytona more accessible to a broader range of buyers if it wants it to be a true success.

Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack Image Gallery:

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tigerseye Jan 17, 2025 #1

Stellantis execs must be smoking dope to have set a price range this high for a hot rod EV. Actually all their models are way overpriced for what they are, even the lowly Jeep. I can only assume they have a mad plan to eliminate all elements of the former Chrysler brands, abandoning the North American market for the sake of European purity. I decided several years ago to never consider anything they bring to market. They no longer exist as far as I'm concerned.

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CloversPlusCats Jan 18, 2025 #2

The 'affordable trim' bit seems to have fallen on functional ears.

Everyone's favorite YouTuber (TK's Garage 😀) had leaked some C6X info some days ago, funnily enough same day it was revealed to be put on hold, and with it also came confirmation of the existence of a Charger Daytona GT. No clue if anyone here has really talked about it though, just glossing over the forum quickly and decided to post about it.

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RustyPickup Jan 18, 2025 #3

You don't use "electric" and " muscle car" in the same sentence. "Hatchback" screams stroller/Costco/granola - not the "sporty" vibe. No "Hemi" - heresy. Pricing horrendous. Should have launched a hybrid if anything first. BLAND styling. The cops don't want a hatchback. The Fast and Furious crowd will giggle. Old "Gs" like me who drove a 440-6 feel no connection to batteries. Young EV drivers usually look to Virtue signaling with a Prius (not Tesla anymore). And if course all the usual range sucks, no chargers, environmental disaster of relying on coal plants, resource exploitation and what to do with all the hard to recycle batteries. I hope I'm wrong.

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patfromigh Jan 18, 2025 #4

Young EV drivers usually look to Virtue signaling with a Prius (not Tesla anymore).

You couldn't be more wrong. When the Tesla cars arrived the Green crowd dropped the Prius like yesterday's newspaper. Virtue signalling is now impossible in a car brand that went immediately on the hate list when their 1:6:90 rule became public. When the head of Toyota called out the Zero Emissions mandates, the WEF and their cronies forced him to step down from his position. That didn't shut him up, and Toyota is changing the game. The new Prius is nothing like the previous generations. As I've mentioned in another thread, the PHEV Prius is a modern day Charger GHLS.

The early adopters moved on from the Prius to the Tesla. When Prius sales dried up Toyota cried all the way to the bank because at that point their hybrid system was being installed in other models. The question remains what will the early adopters move on to now that a Tesla isn't cool to be seen with anymore. The regular buyers haven't switched because EVs are expensive to buy, operate, and insure. The dead robots winter scenes scared off the general public as well. People want hybrids. The Ram 1500 was knocked off the number 3 sales spot by the Toyota RAV4. The sales increase of the hybrid option is what helped that achievement. Maybe that had something to do with the Ramcharger being pushed forward.

Young EV drivers buy used California compliance cars because they are dirt cheap. A battery electric can be modified and there have been some influencers out there that have done this. Used Nissan Leafs are cheap, but young people tend to avoid the cars their grandma drives. Those EV drive-trains will sometimes be used in something with a better coolness factor. We used to call that hot rodding.

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