Dodge Challenger Outsells Ford Mustang by Only 35 Cars, Chevy Camaro Lags Behind

The Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang are once again going neck to neck in the battle for the best-selling muscle car of the year title. The Dodge is in the lead, with 35,350 units sold. The Mustang stopped at 35,315 examples, trailing just 35 cars behind.

Ford reveals that the Mustang sales were up 90 percent in September. That is the first full month of sales for the seventh generation. The car does not spend much time at the dealership. According to the Dearborn-based carmaker, the examples sell within six days from their arrival.

There were 9,884 Mustangs listed for the three-month quarter, 6,575 of them came in September, following a very challenging month of August, when Ford only sold 2,036 units, when Dodge sold 3,692 Challengers and 2,450 Camaros. July was even worse, with only 1,233 examples finding owners, while there were 3,834 Challengers and 2,545 Camaros purchased.

Yet, despite an impressive September, the model is still 3.5 percent down from the same period last year. It was a year that Ford would like to forget. It was the worst year for the pony car in terms of sales.

Meanwhile, the Dodge Challenger sales dropped by 33 percent compared to the same period of 2022. It is the final year of the Challenger. Dodge is dropping the almighty HEMI V8 and is getting ready for a whole new generation, which will also spring an electric version. There is no electric Mustang coupe or roadster, since Ford has already checked the zero-emission box with the Mustang Mach-E crossover.

While the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger are battling for the sales crown, the Chevrolet Camaro is lagging behind. Only 7,351 units were sold in the third quarter of 2023. But the Camaro is the only muscle car with a positive sales year, up 28.7 percent compared to last year.

Dodge will retire the V8-powered Challenger version, resorting to an electrified powertrain, which will include the 3.0-liter V6 Hurricane engine. Meanwhile, the Camaro already has an electric future sealed, but Chevrolet has never mentioned an exact date of the comeback. This will turn the Mustang into the only muscle car in the American market and, most likely, a winner by default.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E was ordered by 14,842 customers during the third quarter of 2023. But it still does not stand a single chance against the untouchable Tesla Model Y. Tesla sold around 100,000 Model Ys in the same period of this year.