I’m generally of the mind that something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay. When it comes to the new Dodge Charger Daytona EV, the market has spoken, and guess what? It’s not a fan.
Despite only being on sale for a few months, the Charger EV has seen quite a few discounts. Last month, Dodge started offering up to $12,500 on the hood of 2024 model year examples, $6,500 was slashed off 2025 cars on Wednesday, and that’s all before dealers start adjusting prices themselves to meet demand—or lack thereof.
(Separately, Stellantis has also responded to tariffs by offering employee pricing, although that can’t be combined with the aforementioned cash incentives.)
Bottom line, electric Chargers are being listed for well under the official base R/T starting price of $61,590. The Autopian recently spotted one listed for $30,185, representing a total discount of 32 grand, and as of this writing, the cheapest Daytona in the nation on Autotrader is this 2025 R/T listed for $36,932 by a dealer in Ohio—practically the same price as that Nissan Z we spotted getting discounted to $37,000 recently.
For a brand new performance car, a genre of vehicle that typically sees dealer markups for the first year or two on sale, this is quite a shock (no EV puns intended). In fact, I thought it’d be interesting to compile a list of cars that cost more than what the market has dictated the Charger Daytona R/T is worth. In no particular order:
- 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Premium: MSRP $39,735
- 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Select (after incentives!): $37,185
- 2025 Toyota GR Corolla: MSRP $39,995
- 2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF: MSRP $39,330
- 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV LT2 (after cash and Costco incentives!!!): $40,295
- 2025 Nissan Ariya: MSRP $41,160
- 2025 Toyota Sienna: MSRP $40,635
Yep, not only has the new Dodge Charger dipped below the official prices of the four-cylinder Mustang and a base Toyota minivan, but it’s also cheaper than the hardtop Miata and a GR Corolla, two performance cars that actually make less total horsepower than the Daytona even if you strapped them together with duct tape and sold them as a package deal.
Ironically, then, that leaves the Charger where it was before: a stinkin’ cheap way to get a shedload of hp. I guess the new Daytona is a real muscle car after all.
Got a tip or question for the author about the cruel realities of the free market? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com
