Challenger SRT Hellcat

Make
Dodge
Segment
Coupe

A new era of muscle cars will begin in 2024, the year Dodge will unveil its first-ever all-electric muscle car. Will this replace the Dodge Challenger and/or Charger? No, at least not immediately. Speaking to Muscle Cars and Trucks, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis says that V8-powered and battery-electric will exist alongside each other for at least a few years.

"The new platform comes in 2024," he said. "The new car comes in 2024. We didn't say that the current cars are going to die in 2024. There might be a little overlap, but you're not going to have years and years and years of the classic and the new one at the same time."

This should certainly bring a huge sigh of relief for many, and Kuniskis refuses to let the V8 muscle car go out with a whimper but rather a bang, whenever it does happen.

"When we announced Viper going away, and we announced ACR at the same time, it was the best and highest price-point Viper sales ever… that was a run on Vipers." The executive refused to go into any greater details, but we get the point. ICE-powered and all-electric models, as is the case with all other major brands, will be found on Dodge dealer lots together for a while, but make no mistake about it: Dodge is aiming for an all-electric future. Before then, though, we could be in for some spectacular combustion cars from the brand. The EV revolution will come for Dodge but unlike GM, for example, there's currently no specific changeover date. Even GM hinted its 2035 date can be flexible based on market conditions and consumer buying habits.

And that brings up another vital point: will Dodge muscle car customers buy the brand's future EVs? Kuniskis admits this is a challenge. "When you make a big change, there's going to be people that just aren't going to follow you, at least not initially," he said. "But a lot of those people will return eventually when they see we're serious, and we're going to be Dodge first."

Developing from scratch a proper 21st century, all-electric muscle car should not be viewed as a negative but rather as a huge positive consisting of many new possibilities. It's important not to judge until we see and experience the product itself.