DETROIT -- Dodge will open dealer ordering for its new 707-hp 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat today, but the brand is changing its normal allocation methods to make sure the high-powered coupe gets into the hands of waiting enthusiasts.
Dodge will base Hellcat dealer allocation on the total number of Dodge vehicles a dealer has sold within the last 180 days, including everything from Dart to Durango to Viper, brand head Tim Kuniskis said.
In December, a second allocation calculation will be made based on the previous 90-days’ sales performance, as well as a traditional 30-day inventory turn.
The dealer allocation for the Challenger Hellcat rewards the dealers “that are selling the Dodge brand,” Kuniskis said. “You sell a lot of Darts for me, Journeys for me, Durangos for me, I’m going to give you the rights to this one, too, because this is a halo of the brand.”
After the initial allocation, Dodge will also begin to measure the Hellcat’s days-on-lot and use it as a factor to determine the number of Challenger SRT Hellcats a dealer will get, Kuniskis said.
The longer a Hellcat sits without being sold -- as it might if it were to have a $10,000 or $20,000 market adjustment on it -- relative to those on other dealer lots, the fewer future Hellcat vehicles a dealer will receive, the Dodge brand boss explained.
“It’s going to be a nightmare, but I think it’s the right thing to do,” Kuniskis said, adding that he has no issue with market pricing, and said dealers have a right to do so.
Most powerful
The 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat is due in Chrysler dealerships in the third quarter. The supercharged V-8 is the most powerful production car ever built by Chrysler, and has 7 more horsepower than the $400,000 Lamborghini Aventador.
“If you want to market-adjust the car, that’s your right. But if your days-on-lot goes above what the other guys that are selling them at MSRP is, they will end up earning the allocation because their days-on-lot will be lower. They’re turning the inventory,” Kuniskis said. “Some dealers are going to have heartburn with that.”
But, he said, “I want this car out in the marketplace so that somebody is sharing it with 50 of their friends and elevating the brand. That’s what I want; not sitting in your showroom with a rope around it. I want people driving these cars, talking about them, revving the engine and having everybody go ‘I want one of those.’ That’s why you build a halo car.”
Kuniskis said Dodge “worked hard” to price the Challenger SRT Hellcat at what he called an attainable $60,990, including shipping, “but that all goes out the window if this car ends up with $20,000 market adjustments on it.”
