The biggest problem, especially as inflation and interest rates rise, and wages continue to stagnate, is that Chrysler has no value line of vehicles. Dodge is not the do-all, be-all division that FCA and Stellantis wish it were, and Chrysler itself was not traditionally a "value" brand. That was always Plymouth.
Stellantis is going to have a hard time if they don't figure a way out of that problem. Used vehicle prices are as stupidly high as new, and anything "value-priced", i.e. - below $25000 - will be at least 10 years old with 99 million miles on it. I'm exaggerating a little bit, but the point is that someone looking for something new/newish has no options.
The current marketing strategy of restricting production to just the highest-margin trims for each model cannot, and will not last. But they'll squeeze that golden goose as long and as hardest they can, no doubt.
10 years ago, I paid $21500 for a brand new Charger SE. Plain jane, no options, but brand new with a full warranty. That's about $27,875 in 2023 dollars, for a full size American car.
The equivalent car today sells for $33,335 after rebate, or $25,716 in 2013 dollars. That means the 2023 model is priced 17% higher than the rate of inflation (29.69%) over that decade.
Granted, they're not 100% identical vehicles, but they are both LD Chargers, with the same 3.6 engine. The 2023 has newer sheet metal, the 845RE transmission, and a few other minor trinkets. Considering the LD was refreshed in 2015, (now 9 full model years), that 17% premium seems a bit steep for what used to be a loss-leader model.
What's really crazy is the big sale a few years ago on the base 300, selling for basically the same price that I paid for my 2013 Charger.
How many of these would they sell today whether the 300 or Charger, for $28,000? None. And the 2024 models will all be $40,000 plus.
They don't need a cheap Chrysler. The "cheap" Dodge Hornet will be a dud for the "value-priced" market. They will either shop elsewhere, or like me, wait until the greed bubble bursts.
