Chrysler Halts New Orders for Hellcat Challenger, Charger (Details)

Last Friday, the folks at Allpar announced that the Chrysler Group had pressed the pause button in the order banks for the 2015 Dodge Challenger and 2015 Dodge Charger powered by the supercharged 6.2L Hellcat Hemi V8. After that announcement, the internet came to life with people who have no idea what they are talking about offering up with they heard was going on, which led to a great many inconsistencies. Today, I spoke with an FCA representative who confirmed that the ordering process had been suspended, but it seems that many of the newer reports are filled with inaccurate accounts of exactly what is happening with the Hellcat Dodge cars.

The Hellcat Ordering Pause
First off, I want to look at the information on the ordering process for the Hellcat-powered Dodge Challenger and Charger.

First, Allpar’s inside sources stated that the ordering process for the Hellcat Challenger and Hellcat Charger was suspended while the company worked its way through the current list of orders placed by dealerships. Allpar’s source also stated that the expectation was to begin taking orders again in August, but that date could change over the next few months.

After reading that, I checked with an Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) representative and he confirmed that Hellcat ordering was suspended and the official company statement is as follows:
“Due to unprecedented demand for the 2015 Dodge Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcats, we are temporarily restricting orders while we validate current orders that are in the system.”

Basically, what this means is that if you haven’t ordered a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat or 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat thus far, you shouldn’t attempt to do so, as the company isn’t taking any new orders right now.

This Could Call Out Questionable Dealers
Over the past few months, dealerships have accepted and delivered more than 9,000 orders for the 2015 Dodge Charger and Challenger with the Hellcat Hemi engine. This has created a problem for the Chrysler Group, as the 707 horsepower Dodge muscle cars take time to build and right now, the company cannot build the Hellcat cars fast enough to meet the demand. This has led to a lengthy delivery process for those who have ordered one of these powerful Dodge cars and while some want to blame Chrysler, the real blame should be placed on the dealerships who have accepted tons of orders even though they knew very well that it would be impossible to fill these orders in a reasonable amount of time.

2015 Challenger Galleries:
The 2015 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack in Sublime
The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in TorRed
The 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in Sublime

One of the factors that contributed to the backlog of orders for the Hellcat Challenger and Charger is that some dealerships were accepting orders long before the order banks had actually opened. This meant that when the order banks opened, some dealerships immediately input a bunch of orders for the Hellcat Challenger all at once. Chrysler points out that these are the dealerships who have caused the most problems through the allocation process, as they made promises to customers that could clearly not be delivered and now that the order process has been suspended, buyers should be very leery of any dealership still accepting orders.

Most of the dealership reps with whom I’ve spoken have been making it very clear that ordering a Hellcat Challenger or Charger at this point (prior to the ordering process being suspended) could lead to a very, very long wait before the car arrives. Now that the ordering process has been suspended, some dealerships might still be willing to take your money for a Hellcat car in the future, but it should be understood that making an order with a dealership when the order banks aren’t open really doesn’t get you any closer to having a Hellcat Dodge. In other words, if you find a dealership that is still willing to accept a reservation for a 707hp Challenger or Charger, you should probably consider finding a more reputable dealership.

Should any information become available, you can be sure to find it here at TorqueNews.com.