--- title: "What Happened to the Base-Model Dodge Charger Daytona EV?" date: "2025-08-09" modified: "2025-08-09" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/what-happened-to-the-base-model-dodge-charger-daytona-ev" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Dodge News" - "Electric Vehicles" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "charger" - "Coupe" - "dodge" - "Electric Vehicle" - "sports car" --- # What Happened to the Base-Model Dodge Charger Daytona EV? ![Dodge Charger Daytona in Orange]() *\Dodge\* We got a lot of news from the Mopar world this week about the [2026 Dodge Charger](). A [twin-turbo inline six]() powers the new Scat Pack; a [V8 Hemi]() is expected soon after all, and [inexpensive gas models are gone](). But what about the [base-model Daytona Charger EV]()? Dodge's CEO blames its absence on tariffs, which makes sense, but I think a bigger problem is that nobody wants one. Dodge launched the new electric Charger at two trim levels: A base R/T starting at about $62,000 and the higher-performance [Scat Pack]() that starts around $76,000. After a couple of production model years, the R/T was dropped and is notably absent for 2026. The car's postponement (not cancellation—it might come back) was confirmed back in May. This week, amid the rollout of the new Charger Six Pack, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear dismissed the idea of low demand for the cheaper Charger EV and essentially blamed tariffs for its demise. In a roundtable with the media, including our own [Byron Hurd](), he said: "\[The reason\] you don't see an R/T for the 26 model year on the Daytona EV has nothing to do with sales. You know, there was miscommunication out there that we killed that because it wasn't selling. Absolutely not. It's simply evolving to a tariff landscape, and where we have to go to maintain profitability in an ever-evolving landscape that right now is reducing the $7,500 central package credit come September." As far as when to expect the Dayona EV's return, the future is unclear. "As soon as the tariffs stabilize and we're able to ramp up our manufacturing curve, we're launching a lot of cars right now at Windsor," McAlear said. "Still producing the Pacifica, you know, now we got uh, you know, two-door, four-door Daytonas. We're bringing out high outputs ... two- and four-door. So as we ramp that up, as the landscape stabilizes on tariffs, then we will look to grow production. Believe me, we want to employ as many people as possible and produce as many vehicles as possible." My read on that is—he's saying tariffs effectively priced the car out of viability. Which, yeah, if you've got a decent car that's way overpriced, you're not going to move that many. But the thing is, demand for the Daytona EV looks pretty soft right now, even below its original list price. I just hopped on AutoTrader and found 1,681 Daytona EVs currently listed for sale under $60,000 around the country. A whole lot of them are brand new or only have delivery miles on them. The fact is, if these were moving, we wouldn't be seeing $14,000 discounts on models with 0 miles. ![Autotrader screenshot.]() *Autotrader screenshot from August 8, 2025. *AutoTrader** Given the market and regulatory environment we're living in, I have to say I do not see Dodge being in any kind of rush to stamp out more of these cars. The Charger Daytona R/T might be "postponed" for 2026, but its odds of resurrection look pretty slim to me. *Are you driving a Dodge Charger Daytona R/T? I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a line at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.* ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()