Zac Quinn 
2023 is a bittersweet year within the muscle car segment. To start, we’ve gotten some very special Dodge Challenger and Charger trims, the record-breaking Demon 170, along with the imminent arrival of the S650 Ford Mustang. However, it’s also the final year that we will see the V8 Dodge muscle cars in action; it’s also the second to last year that Chevrolet will have the Camaro on the market. All of this combined could make for some significant sales increases within the segment as customers try to get their hands on the cars while they still can. Automakers have released their first-quarter sales results, and things are starting strong.
Muscle Car Sales Q1 2023 For The USA Market
Starting with the Dodge Challenger, this year’s first three months saw 11,371 units sold, up two percent compared to the 11,124 in Q1 of 2022. That makes it the third highest-selling muscle car for the first quarter of 2023, despite being the segment’s leader at the end of 2022. As for the Dodge Charger, 22,138 units have been sold so far, up 43% compared to the first quarter of last year, where just 15,439 units were sold. It’s “Last Call,” and customers are looking to secure the final builds of Dodge’s current crop of muscle cars, even if that means stealing them.
According to the scoreboard, the S550 Ford Mustang is the current sales leader in two-door muscle cars, as it has 14,711 units sold within the first quarter of 2023. That’s an increase of 5.2 percent from 2022 when just 13,986 cars were sold for Q1 of 2022. As for the Chevrolet Camaro, it’s still trailing behind the others, with just 7,780 vehicles sold throughout the first quarter. However, that’s an improvement of 15.9 percent, where just 6,710 Camaros were sold in the first three months of 2022. As for the Chevrolet Corvette, sales for America’s sports cars have dropped 10.3%, with just 7,904 new Corvettes delivered. Compared to last year, 8,811 Corvettes were sold within the year’s first three months.
The decrease may be attributed to fans keeping a watchful eye on obtaining the Z06, which has limited production compared to the Stingray. The Corvette is still outselling the Chevy Camaro, but just barely. If these numbers continue for the rest of the year, we could see Mustang and Camaro beat their 2022 figures.
Looking ahead in 2023, Ford is readying the launch of the next-gen Mustang the second half of this year, Chevrolet will debut its Final Collector’s Edition Camaro as well as launch the Corvette E-Ray hybrid, and Dodge is expected to reveal more details on what’s next after the sunsetting of the LX-platform Charger and Challenger. This includes the possible return of the Dodge Stealth as an SUV, a full-sized Durango, and even Hurricane six cylinder turbo-powered next-generation Charger and Challenger muscle cars.
