Matt McAlear Explains Dodge’s Next-Gen Performance Platform

Dodge is working to rebuild dealer confidence while redefining performance for a new generation of buyers. On this episode of Inside Automotive, Matt McAlear shares how the brand is resetting its dealer relationships and rolling out a flexible, multi-energy strategy to meet shifting consumer demand.

McAlear explains how Dodge is balancing electrification with internal combustion options through a “freedom of choice” approach, giving dealers and customers greater flexibility. He also discusses the launch of Dodge’s next-generation performance platform, pricing strategy, and efforts to attract younger buyers while maintaining the brand’s core identity.

With new models arriving in showrooms and dealer engagement initiatives underway, Dodge aims to align production, performance, and affordability to support long-term growth.

McAlear covers:

• Rebuilding dealer relationships and improving sentiment post-NADA
• Launch of Dodge’s next-generation performance platform
• Multi-energy strategy: EV, ICE, and future hybrid considerations
• Pricing and value positioning of new Charger models
• Flexibility in production based on regional demand shifts
• Targeting Gen Z and younger performance-focused buyers

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.

Dealer Confidence And Profitability Push

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:11

Hey everyone, Jim Fitzpatrick with CBT News. Thanks for joining us this morning. I recently sat down with Matt McAlier, CEO of Dodge. We discussed how the brand is adapting to industry-wide challenges like tariffs, electrification, and the ever-changing expectations of consumers. Here's part two of our three-part conversation. Switching gears a little bit from consumers to dealers.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

How are dealers feeling about the You know, we just got back from NADA in Las Vegas, and it was terrific to uh see so many of our uh our dealers out there and show them not only the current product, but some of the future product that uh is in the pipeline. And we really do have a bright future ahead of us. We've kind of uh we've hit a reset button here, as uh you know many of you guys have reported. Um, we're having a lot of fun right now. We know where we need to go. Uh the lights at the end of the tunnel, uh, we're all running as fast as we can, pushing as hard as we can to you know get the right product back on the dealer lots that consumers want uh so that we can all be successful. We win together. Uh we don't win if the dealers don't win, and the dealers don't win if we're not winning. So it is definitely uh a reinvigorated partnership that where we're helping each other out. Uh we're having a lot of fun. Uh we're meeting with National Dealer Council here in a couple weeks, and and we continue to work together just on the little things. And you know, even the the new uh spring training tour that we're getting ready to relaunch that we kind of got away from for a couple of years, uh, which is so important to the to their livelihood and training their people and not only on our vehicles but on the competitions. So uh we like to think we're doing a lot of the right things. Uh we're working together and we're having a lot of fun, and and both of us need to back to get back to profitability as quickly as possible.

Performance Electrification And Choice

Jim Fitzpatrick 1:56

Sure, sure. Um, there's a lot of curiosity and emotion around electrification for a performance brand like Dodge. How do you uh explain Dodge's approach to fans who might be skeptical uh about this?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

You know, I think it's freedom of choice, it's power of choice. Uh battery electric vehicles, uh you cannot dispute uh their performance capability of instant torque, all wheel drive off the line, and the acceleration that they uh they deliver. Um quite frankly, I love them. I love my 550 horsepower scat pack that I'm driving right now. Um, there's things that make a battery electric vehicle incredible. There's things that make uh an internal combustion engine incredible. Uh neither of them are perfect. They both have uh things that they offer uh to different customers. And you know, we're definitely in a transition period uh in the industry and quite uh frankly, um in America. And you know, we're gonna continue to evolve and different parts of the country are going to continue to adopt electrification sooner than others. Uh I we are definitely not pushing any one technology on uh all of the our customers or our dealers, uh, but we offer the most powerful muscle car in the industry with 670 horsepower, and we most offer the most horsepower uh under$60,000 with a 550 horsepower Scat Pack. We have options, and I think it's important for people now, they can compare and contrast a powertrain like they haven't been able to do before. Um, you know, with this multi-energy platform, you can walk into a dealership and you can have the same exact vehicle with two different power plants. And it's no different than when you used to drive a V6 and test drive it versus V8. Now you can test drive uh an inline six versus uh a full battery electric.

Jim Fitzpatrick 3:44

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

Choose what's right for you.

EV Demand Shifts And Flexible Production

Jim Fitzpatrick 3:46

Sure, sure. The uh and with the electrification and the tax incentives going away in in September, um, obviously then then that last few uh weeks of uh the you know the campaigns that were out there, uh we saw you know EVs rise to 12 or 13 percent of the market. And then of course it dropped right after that. What's your take on the EV market moving forward? Where where do you think this will end up over the course of the next few years in terms of uh penetration to the marketplace?

Hybrids As A Bridge Technology

SPEAKER_00 4:15

You know, I wish I had uh the crystal ball that said exactly uh what was gonna happen. It would be much easier if I did. Um, I think what I can say is I'm excited the way we've positioned our offerings. We have a multi-energy platform that we can flex our production to meet demand. And right now we're all in on ice powertrains. Um but that doesn't mean that we will be all in on ice powertrains a year from now, 18 months from now, two years from now. Uh perhaps the coasts start to come back to electrification or certain uh parts of the country. Uh we can shift uh production to meet that demand. And that's where we're not pushing anyone technology, but we're gonna stay flexible and have the ability to react quickly. And I think that puts us in a position where we haven't necessarily been in before, uh, where we were all committed to certain technologies. Uh now we're committed to a multi-energy platform uh that we can react, even not even now, but you know, two, three, four, five years from now. Sure. And that's what we're uh putting our, you know, setting our flag in the ground and giving consumers the power of choice when they want it.

Jim Fitzpatrick 5:21

Sure. Um it seems as though the consumers are saying, well, maybe we're not all in at the rate that the industry thought, you know, five years ago that we would be on EVs. However, hybrids is a different story. It seems as though that has become kind of the bridge to an all EV market one day, whenever that might be. I don't know if we'll ever see that. But what what is your what's your take on that?

SPEAKER_00 5:43

I think you know, hybrids are uh a terrific um technology. And you know, we're continuing to look at uh all kinds of powertrain options. And you know, I always uh talk about the last generation of muscle cars with the charger and challenger. And if you look throughout uh the lifespan of those vehicles, we started with a 3.5 liter and a 6.1 liter V8, and then we changed to a 3.6 liter when we went to the Penestar, and then we went to a 6.4 liter, and then we brought you know the 5.7 liter, and then we had the 6.2 liter supercharge. We continue to evolve our powertrain options. And if and in just a short year that we're in this new platform, we've already launched the full battery electric. We've already launched the 550 horsepower uh twin turbo inline six, and now we're getting ready in a couple of weeks to release the 420 horsepower. So in one year, we've already brought out three powertrain options and we're just getting started. Who knows where the future goes? But if uh the past is any indication, uh there's a lot of exciting things coming.

Jim Fitzpatrick 6:42

Yeah. Well, without giving away too many secrets, what can dealers and consumers uh be excited about in the future? Can you share any of that with us?

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Or well, I think you know, right now we're living it, and it's it seems like uh we've been in market for a while, but the 550 horsepower high output twin turbo zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds has just started here hitting dealer lots in the last 20, 25 days. So you walk into a dealer showroom, it's different than it was two months ago and three months ago. And you walk in there in a short two months and you'll have a 420 horsepower option. So we're in the midst of launch right now, and there's a lot of exciting things showing up at dealers that we're just getting ready to get consumers behind the wheel of. And yeah, I love reading them one at a time in the social comments that come in and they say, you know, I got to go test drive one. I was at one of our thrill rides and sat with a professional driver and got to experience the drifts. I had no idea. Yeah. Um, it was amazing the technology and the performance that's in these cars. And I had to go buy one. You know, getting behind the wheel is believing in this technology that we're offering that we haven't had in the past.

Affordability And Dollar Per Horsepower

Jim Fitzpatrick 7:47

Sure, sure. Um with these cars, obviously comes uh uh you know a price tag that um will get your attention, to say the least. Um, and affordability is obviously at the forefront of every OEM's mind, as well as dealers and consumers, needless to say. Um, we're looking at the average price of a new car being now over$50,000. Where does this go? What is your take on this as the head of Dodge? Um affordability is a real concern, right?

Generation Z And The Love Of Speed

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Absolutely. And it's something that we've talked about that we uh we're focused on, and we're focused on uh continuing to evolve our lineup uh in all price points. And when you look at the current offerings, you know, we still have the Durango that you can get into in the low 40s. Um but when you look at the the current iterations of the charger that are out there, uh we absolutely offer uh value at that those price points. And the the RT with 420 horsepower is the most standard horsepower of any muscle car starting at 49.9. You step up to the 550 horsepower and you've got the most horsepower available under 55,000. Um, you know, again, not necessarily the most uh uh the cheapest entry-level cars, but dollar per horsepower and stacked up against the competition, we absolutely offer value uh in that performance category that we're proud of and we can stand behind. And with standard all-wheel drive and SUV-like uh capability from a storage standpoint, a comfort standpoint, these vehicles are no longer a niche vehicle that you may have to have an SUV or a truck in the garage next to them. So dollar per horsepower, we're very competitive. And capability-wise, with all-wheel drive uh standard and and the ability to go to 100% rear-wheel drive, uh, these are truly daily drivers. I've been driving one uh for the last year, all through Michigan winters, and with no issue. And that's something we haven't been able to offer before.

Jim Fitzpatrick 9:44

Yeah, that's that's great. Um needless to say, baby boomers and generation X and others uh, you know, the before Generation Z are all in on this, these muscle cars. I grew up on this uh as as as many of my family members and friends have as well. And uh, but what about Generation Z? I mean, this is the up-and-coming generation that most uh retailers and automakers uh are looking at to say, are are they in to these high-performance vehicles the way the generations were before them?

SPEAKER_00 10:16

The single hardest thing I have every single day is to get the keys away from my 16-year-old. Um when I get home at night, I mean he every night he says, Hey Dad, can I take your car tonight? Um, they absolutely love these vehicles. Uh, you know, you I hang out and with a lot of his friends and talk to them in the the school parking lots. They uh they're all in on performance. And what's exciting to talk to them about is different things are exciting to them. They loved the battery electric technology, they had no bias, they had no uh preconceived uh uh opinions, but they loved they love the performance that it delivered. At the same time, they love the sound of the uh the new Scat Pack with the the the inline six. Um it's great to see fresh perspective and uh non-biased opinions. The car is beautiful in its own right. Um you and I may see a 68 Charger sitting there with some heritage-inspired cues. Um the the younger generation, they just see something that doesn't look like anything else on the road, right? That is bold, uh, the widest car in the industry, uh, that's different. And and that's where Dodge wins. We've always said it, you know, even since the 80s, uh, Dodge is different. Dodge wins when we're different.

Jim Fitzpatrick 11:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

We we don't build me two cars and we build things that you see them coming, you hear them coming, and you say, what was that if you if you didn't know?

Where To Watch Part One

Jim Fitzpatrick 11:38

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Boy, I wish I had a dad like you at 16 years old with a with a fancy car that I'm I'm getting the keys to. So that I hope your your son realizes what he's got there. If you missed part one of my discussion with Matt McElair, it's still available right here at cbtnews.com. Stay tuned for part three coming up soon. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Thanks for watching Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.