Impact Of Import Tariffs And Sales Reduction, Dodge Hornet 2026 Delays Production

JAKARTA The future of Dodge Hornet, a relatively new compact SUV in the automotive market, is now under uncertainty. Stellantis, Dodge's parent company, has confirmed the delay in production of the Dodge Hornet 2026 model. This decision, which was first reported by Automotive News and confirmed to Car and Driver, quoted Saturday, July 19, was largely due to the impact of the import rate recently imposed by the Trump administration of 25 percent on imported cars.

Dodge Hornet, including its hybrid variant, is produced at the Pomigliano d'Arco plant, Italy, along with the mechanically similar Alfa Romeo Tonale. Because it is produced outside the United States, Hornets are subject to significant import rates, making it less competitive in the market. Stellantis spokeswoman stated that the delay in production was to "continue to assess the effect of US tariff policies."

Sales Decreased Sharply

This delay also comes amid unsatisfactory sales conditions of the Dodge Hornet. Although in 2024 it managed to sell 20,559 units, the Hornet sales rate experienced a drastic decline in the second quarter of this year.

The data show that Hornet sales in the first quarter of 2025 reached only 4,108 units, down from 7,419 units in the same period in 2024. A more severe decline occurred in the second quarter of 2025, where only 1,539 units were sold, falling 64 percent compared to 4,299 units in the second quarter of the previous year. Overall, Hornet sales throughout the first half of this year decreased 52 percent compared to the previous year.

Despite this, the Hornet is still the second best-selling Dodge model at the moment. This is because sales of electricchargersure are still slow, Challenger has stopped production after the 2023 model, and the gasoline-powered Charger Sixpack has not been officially launched as a replacement for the previous version of Charger.

Dodge Hornet is not the first Dodge model to face tariff-related challenges. Previously, Dodge also reduced the Charger fire line to only the Scatter Pack variant, removing the basic R/T model for 2026 as sales of the Canadian-made electric muscle car remained sluggish.

There has been no confirmation from Dodge whether this delay means the 2026 model will be completely passed or there is a possibility that the 2026 Hornet production will resume in the future. This situation highlights how tariff policies can significantly affect global automotive manufacturer production and sales strategies.