-Dodge SRT Hellcat demand has easily outstripped supply—this is something the company intended. It was also blatantly obvious that a lot of dealers gouged the hell out of customers looking to get one of the few Hellcats around—something that Dodge isn’t terribly fond of. In an attempt to limit dealer shenanigans, Dodge is going to do a few things: cancel pending 2015 orders, increase production of 2016 models, and change the way it allocates cars to dealerships.
The company built about 4000 Hellcat Chargers and Challengers, in total, so far, according to Automotive News. Dodge president and CEO Tim Kuniskis also told AN that 2016 production would more than double, although the exact production numbers aren’t clear yet.
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Around 900 pending orders for 2015 model year Hellcats will be canceled, and those folks will lose their place in the order queue. In exchange, Dodge will give those customers a voucher to get a 2016 SRT Hellcat at the 2015 price—although it won’t override any markup the dealer wants to add. The final price will still come down to negotiation between the dealer and the customer, according to Kuniskis.
-2016 model year Hellcats will be more expensive, in part, because they now feature standard premium “Laguna leather” interiors, Uconnect 8.4AN, and five years of SiriusXM radio.
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Lastly, a more rational allocation program should reduce the sort of vulgar price-gouging that left a bad taste in a lot of Hellcat fans’ mouths. Dealers will get a clear idea of how many cars they’ll be able to order at a time, and they won’t be able to order more unless they fulfill some conditions. If you want to know more, Dodge has the allocation program broken down right here.
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The bottom line is that there will be more 2016 SRT Hellcats to go around, and they shouldn’t be quite so outrageously marked up. But given the monumental pent-up demand for the cars, don’t expect them to be sitting at lots waiting for you to walk in and drive them away at MSRP.
-This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com via Automotive News.
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