2020 Dodge Sales Are Better than They Look at First Glance

Dodge Q3 2020 sales are down 31%, but the Journey and Caravan account for most of the decline.

The entire auto industry is down due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and in the case of FCA, the entire group was down 10% during the third quarter of 2020. Only Alfa Romeo and Chrysler showed positive year-over-year growth during the months of July, August and September, but Ram nearly broke even. The all-truck brand only declined by 2%, delivering 175,175 pickups and vans over the past few months.

In the case of the Dodge brand, 71,936 units sold during the third quarter leads to a decline of 31% from the same period last year. Also, Dodge is down 38% on the year and to some, this is a sign of trouble from the performance minded brand. However, when you dig a little deeper into the numbers, things aren’t so bad for Dodge sales in this unprecedented year.

Q3 Dodge Decline

During the third quarter, Dodge sold 71,936 cars, SUVs and minivans, down 31% from 104,146 units sold in Q3 2019. That is a decline of 32,210 units. During the third quarter of 2020, the discontinued Caravan line declined by 21,523 units and the dead-in-the-water Journey declined by 6,801. In other words, those two discontinued models accounted for 28,324 of the 32,210-unit difference.

Of the three existing models – the Charger, Challenger and Durango – sales aren’t quite as bad. Mind you, sales are still slow due to a lack of new car supply from Canada coupled with many Americans being out of work right now. However, the Dodge sedan is only down 10% with 23,547 units sold and the muscular coupe is down 9% with 16,332 units sold. The Challenger nearly outsold the Chevrolet Camaro by a two-to-one ratio. As for the Durango, it is up 2% to 15,957 units sold during the third quarter.

Annual Numbers

On the year, Dodge is down 38% with 204,350 cars, SUVs and vans sold, but once again, much of the decline comes from the discontinued models. Dodge is down 127,895 units through the first nine months of 2020. The Caravan is down 63,248 units and the Journey is down 31,646 units for a total of 94,894 units-worth of decline.

Meanwhile, Dodge has sold 53,631 Chargers this year. That is down 25% from last year, but it is still the bestselling rear-drive car in the U.S. market. The Challenger has moved 38,350 units, down 18% from last year, but it still sits second in the muscle car segment, leading the Camaro by more than 16,000 units.

Ram Brand

The Ram brand is looking pretty good in this troublesome year. During the third quarter, the Ram pickup moved 156,157 units, down 3%. For the year, the redesigned pickup is sitting at 402,410 units sold through the first nine months, a decline of 13% from last year.

Unfortunately, the Ram has slipped behind the Chevrolet Silverado, but as the economy improves, we could see a thrilling year-end battle for second place in the truck world.

Photos: FCA

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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