2026 Dodge Hornet delayed, future uncertain due to tariffs

testerdahl

testerdahl

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The latest impact from the automotive tariffs has now hit the 2026 Dodge Hornet which will be delayed and its future is now uncertain. 2026 Dodge Hornet delayed The news, reported by Car and Driver, is Dodge is suspending production for the 2026 Hornet as it navigates the impacts of the tariffs. Dodge builds the Hornet and Hornet Hybrid alongside its mechanically identical cousin the Alfa Romeo Tonale at the factory in Pomigliano d’Arco, Italy. Both of these SUVs are subject to a 25 percent import tariff. The Dodge Hornet was meant to be an entry-level subcompact SUV for Dodge […] (read full article...)
 
Does blaming tariffs really work here? The Hornet was a bust long before Tariffs were on the table, it was a bust while it was still on the drawing board. As you noted in the article, first half sales in 2025 were down over 50% from 1st half 2024. 20k total sales in 2024 and noted for being one of the slowest selling cars in the US. Also, a depreciation loser ... it reportedly loses 40% of it's value in 2 years.

But to blame tariffs? That doesn't pass the sniff test. Future of the Dodge Hornet in question due to continued poor decisions by Stellantis and Dodge. That one smells decent.
 
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Fightnfire said:
Does blaming tariffs really work here? The Hornet was a bust long before Tariffs were on the table, it was a bust while it was still on the drawing board. As you noted in the article, first half sales in 2025 were down over 50% from 1st half 2024. 20k total sales in 2024 and noted for being one of the slowest selling cars in the US. Also, a depreciation loser ... it reportedly loses 40% of it's value in 2 years.

But to blame tariffs? That doesn't pass the sniff test. Future of the Dodge Hornet in question due to continued poor decisions by Stellantis and Dodge. That one smells decent.
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When you look at the full sales picture, 20k is pretty good for their lineup and 5k isn't horrible in the grand scheme of things.

Screenshot 2025-07-18 at 3.18.08 PM.png
 
testerdahl said:
What’s interesting to me is brands have been blaming tariffs for 60 years. Nothing new IMO.
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You're not wrong but I guess I'd like to see that challenged in the article? Why is Stellantis, Dodge and Chrysler struggling? Is it really the tariffs or is there significantly more to the story like killing their best-selling sedans and going EV only versions, completely ignoring the Durango to die in the wind, making basic Jeeps unavailable in many states... And ratcheting prices through the roof. There's more here.

Unfortunately lazy people will read that and actually think the tariffs are the problem at Stellantis.
 
Fightnfire said:
You're not wrong but I guess I'd like to see that challenged in the article? Why is Stellantis, Dodge and Chrysler struggling? Is it really the tariffs or is there significantly more to the story like killing their best-selling sedans and going EV only versions, completely ignoring the Durango to die in the wind, making basic Jeeps unavailable in many states... And ratcheting prices through the roof. There's more here.

Unfortunately lazy people will read that and actually think the tariffs are the problem at Stellantis.
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I actually just woke up and was thinking, Damn Tim. Idiot. Dumb comment. Obviously people are hyper sensitive to tariffs right now. LOL.

You do bring up an interesting question on struggling. We tend to judge companies without really understanding what’s good or what’s bad. I mean. Ram came out and said, we were flat out wrong saying their sales were so bad. They pointed out that their retail sales were good, fleet was bad, so profit was up. Ok. I don’t have access to that information, so how I am supposed to know that??

What about the Hornet? Is 5k sales in 2 quarters good or bad? If we are talking Alfa it is good. If we are talking about a Toyota product it is bad. Mitsubishi would love a vehicle that produces like that. It is all relative and hard to judge.

I did search if the Hornet is sold globally and got a solid no from Google. I do wonder if the platform is used elsewhere. That would make a difference. If you only sell 5k in the U.S., but you use the parts and platform elsewhere then the business case for keeping it makes a lot more sense.

Just so many variables, it is hard to judge.

All of this makes me gun shy about going all Jalopnik on them and calling the company out for building a completely POS with no resale value vehicle. Who am I to say that without understanding the bigger picture?
 
testerdahl said:
I actually just woke up and was thinking, Damn Tim. Idiot. Dumb comment. Obviously people are hyper sensitive to tariffs right now. LOL.

You do bring up an interesting question on struggling. We tend to judge companies without really understanding what’s good or what’s bad. I mean. Ram came out and said, we were flat out wrong saying their sales were so bad. They pointed out that their retail sales were good, fleet was bad, so profit was up. Ok. I don’t have access to that information, so how I am supposed to know that??

What about the Hornet? Is 5k sales in 2 quarters good or bad? If we are talking Alfa it is good. If we are talking about a Toyota product it is bad. Mitsubishi would love a vehicle that produces like that. It is all relative and hard to judge.

I did search if the Hornet is sold globally and got a solid no from Google. I do wonder if the platform is used elsewhere. That would make a difference. If you only sell 5k in the U.S., but you use the parts and platform elsewhere then the business case for keeping it makes a lot more sense.

Just so many variables, it is hard to judge.

All of this makes me gun shy about going all Jalopnik on them and calling the company out for building a completely POS with no resale value vehicle. Who am I to say that without understanding the bigger picture?
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We can only judge off of what we know and what they tell us or show us. Unfortunately for RAM they appear to be struggling, specific sales volume isn't the only metric. Plus, their parent company also looks to be struggling. Their market share is down and I don't think it makes a lot of sense for them to be denying or talking semantics. Everything Kuniskis has done shows they're struggling.
 
To paraphrase a bad line from a bad movie, "You never go full Jalopnik."

The problem with Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep is the fact that Stellantis has a bazillion brands and it's trying to make them all one. You can't do that! Hopefully they let the new North America CEO some leeway in what to build and bring over. In a way, it's an all new ball game short term.
 
Saddle Tramp said:
To paraphrase a bad line from a bad movie, "You never go full Jalopnik."

The problem with Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep is the fact that Stellantis has a bazillion brands and it's trying to make them all one. You can't do that! Hopefully they let the new North America CEO some leeway in what to build and bring over. In a way, it's an all new ball game short term.
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The other problem is it takes a very long time to shift gears even if the correct decisions start to be made.
Personally, I could see them selling off some brand names under the stellantis banner. Any major changes put in after the ceo change probably won’t bear fruit for 2 years or so minimum. Short term are damage control for short term profit imho.
 
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