Yardbird
Senior Member
How Stellantis Is Driving Mopar Toward A Major Crisis
Story by Jared Solomon6 min read
Stellantis is under heavy fire right now. Sales are tumbling, dealers are upset, factories are closing, and there is an excess inventory. Though the problems for Stellantis are not only prevalent in North America, what troubles many car enthusiasts in the US is the fact that the Mopar brands are struggling. Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler have had much better days, but under Stellantis, they have not been able to grow or offer products that many fans of the brands would have hoped for. Many are upset, but one fan has come out and blamed Stellantis for killing Mopar in just three years.
Mopar Fans Are Upset With Stellantis
RacerX, is a YouTube car personality, and he is a pretty big fan of Mopar. In his recent video, he came out with guns blazing and stated that he believes Stellantis has killed the Mopar brands. He goes on to use some interesting points that he got from a CNBC special that talked about Stellantis' troubles.
Some of the strong facts in his video include the push for EV adoption, declining sales, dip in share prices, reliability, and of course, the massive inventory of Mopar vehicles just lying around in dealerships. So, let's deep dive into all the problems and see why Mopar fans are so upset and if Stelllantis is indeed solely responsible for the downfall of the beloved Mopar brands.
Is Stellantis' Push For EVs To Blame?
According to RaceX, Stellantis' push for electric vehicles hasn't resonated well with the U.S. market, leading to poor sales. The U.S. consumer base hasn't embraced EVs at the rate Stellantis anticipated, contributing to the companys financial struggles. But, this is not entirely true. There have been reports of a worldwide decline in EV sales, but in reality, it's a slowdown, not a decline. EVs are still popular, and they are growing in the US. They might have lost market share, but sales are up.While Stellantis has had declining sales, they have some EVs that are doing pretty well. According to Stellantis' sales figures for Q3 of 2024, the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, Dodge Hornet R/T, and the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid take four of the top-five spots for best-selling hybrids in the U.S. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe sold 10,866 units in Q3 of this year, which is 30% of total Jeep Wrangler third-quarter total 2024 U.S. sales.
Not Enough New Mopar Models
The problem is not the push to go electric. What is not helping Mopar right now is that there are not enough new products. RacerX mentions this and we agree. There are barely any new 2024 models available. Dodge for example has the Hornet, but a compact SUV is the last thing a Mopar fan wants in his/her garage according to RacerX. However, Dodge Hornet retail sales increased 109% in Q3 year over year, marking its best retail sales quarter since the vehicle went on sale in April 2023. The brand's first muscle-inspired crossover, the Hornet R/T, accounted for 1,396 units, which is 36% of total third-quarter Dodge Hornet sales.Dodge needs big sedans and muscle cars, but it does not have any on offer. The Hellcat fans are also upset about the new launch of the Dodge electric muscle car. It's still not for sale yet, and neither are the new ICE Charger and Challenger models, so we cannot comment on how well those models will sell in the future.
The models that were refreshed, however, did pretty well. For example, the 2024 Jeep Compass total U.S. sales increased 71% in Q3 2024 year over year. So, this means that Mopar brands need to offer new products to bring customers back.
RacerX tries to get to the bottom of not only the inventory of Dodge Challengers and Chargers but also other Stellantis products not selling.
Stellantis Dealers Are Unhappy
RacerX also points out that Mopar dealers are upset that there is a large excess inventory and that dealerships have hundreds of cars sitting around. This was true a few months ago, and Stellantis has already come out and made a statement that they will get rid of 100,000 vehicles from the 2024 models inventory. Already, 40,000 have been removed. Dealers were also upset about the business approach of Stellantis and voiced their opinions openly, but recently the newly-appointed North America leader of the company, Antonio Filosa, who also heads the Jeep brand, met with the Stellantis Dealer Council. According to The Detroit News, dealers left the meetings feeling "cautiously optimistic" after they received new information about better vehicle incentives, and the company's product plans.Mopar Reliability Problems
Yes, it's true, there have been some reliability problems, and Stellantis has launched products in premium and luxury segments where the competition is stiff. According to the JD Power US Vehicle Dependability Study 2024, all Mopar brands are further down in the rankings.
Mopar Reliability Rankings
- Dodge - Ranked 10th
- Jeep - Ranked 11th
- Ram - Ranked 18th
- Chrysler - Ranked 30th (Last)
Is Stellantis Responsible For Mopar's Death?
When a carmaker as big as Stellantis does not do well, there are bound to be many people who will not be happy. However, it's important to separate Mopar fans from fans of the Mopar brands. More often than not, a Mopar fan is a muscle car enthusiast, and RacerX is the proud owner of plenty of high-performance Dodge muscle cars. The problem here is that many of the problems he is referring to are Dodge problems and not all Mopar brands in general. Yes, sales are down across the board despite some models doing well, but the bigger issue is that Stellantis failed to take care of Mopar enthusiasts. The introduction of the electric muscle car did not sit well with many.
But, the problem for Stellantis itself does not only begin and end with Mopar. Stellantis is having trouble with every brand, including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati. Factories are shutting down, employees are being laid off, and stock prices are dropping. RacerX makes his argument seem that Stellantis was out to intentionally destroy Mopar.
There are also a few external factors outside of Stellantis' control, which have affected sales:
- Dealers Share the Blame
- Younger Consumers Want More Tech
- The Pandemics Impact
- Muscle Cars Are A Niche Market Now
Has Stellantis destroyed Mopar? The truth lies somewhere in the middle. While Stellantis decisions have undeniably led to a steep decline in Mopars once-dominant position, there are numerous external factors contributing to the current situation.
If Stellantis can adjust its strategies, mend relationships with dealers, and balance its EV ambitions with products that appeal to traditional Mopar fans, there may still be hope for all the brands.
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