Stellantis must be making a ton of money with the Dodge Challenger. It’s like, 43 years old, and still selling like it is almost a new model. Well, maybe not 43 years, but at least 13 years, and that is not taking into account the existing Mercedes components it uses that came from the early-2000s. Anyway, the Challenger train has chugged into first place.

Challenger beat Mustang and Camaro, and even beat its Q2 sales figures

With the Q3 production figures trickling in, it looks like Challenger beat out the perennial winner Mustang, as well as the Camaro. Both of those are much newer vehicles, yet the muscle car buyers just don’t seem to care. It sold 14-percent better than last quarter. 

For Q2 it sold 13,994 Challengers, so Q3 numbers were just under 20,000. For the same period, the Mustang sold 9,115; while the third-place Camaro hit just 5,203. So, what happened to the Mustang?

For the first time the Challenger sells more than the Mustang, but why?

First, there is the other Mustang; the Mach-E. It has to be cutting into some Mustang sales. And of course, the never-ending microchip shortage. Automakers are diverting some chips slated for their respective muscle cars to the more popular and profitable trucks and SUVs. 

Of course, sporty cars just aren’t selling as well these days; at least not the American-made offerings. Some are suggesting that smaller trucks like the Hyundai Santa Cruz half car/half truck, and Ford Maverick are poised to begin finishing off the muscle car segment. But that be having much effect right now. 

The good news and bad news about future American muscle cars

There is some good news and some bad for the segment. The next all-new Mustang should have some sort of reveal next year. Internally called “S650,” it will land in showrooms in 2023. And Stellantis already announced that an all-electric muscle car concept will arrive next year. It should give a good preview of what the next Challenger,  might be like. As Dodge has survived almost strictly from the sales of Challengers and Chargers, we can’t see it abandoning either for SUVs, as Ford and GM have.

As for the Camaro, rumors fluctuate between GM killing it off totally, or GM bringing the nameplate back as a performance sedan. This one brings us more concern because fielding a Camaro as a sedan seems sacrilegious. But then, so did a Mustang SUV. And it is outselling the Mustang coupe and convertible handily. 

We also know that with Ford’s announcement last week that is it investing over $13 billion in infrastructure and development of electric vehicles, it is all-in on anything and everything involving electrification. How that affects its plans for the next Mustang is unknown. But it is something that all of the manufacturers are facing as they forge into an uncertain electric future.