Dodge Pauses Hornet Production, Blames Tariffs

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Dodge has paused production of the Hornet crossover and is using President Trump’s tariffs as an excuse for the move. If the model line were at least somewhat popular, we would be more apt to believe that’s the reason. Also, the Hornet has been imported into countries other than the US in the past.

NHTSA is facing job cuts.

Our strong suspicion is that Stellantis has finally realized the Hornet is a stinker. After all, it’s built in Italy on the same platform as the Alfa Romeo Tonale, so hardcore Dodge fans will reject it automatically based simply on that.

If you’ve seen and especially been in and driven the Hornet, you understand better than anyone why it isn’t selling. The thing lacks any wow factor.

Plus, it’s not exactly going to offer reliability like its top competitors. It’s like Stellantis didn’t stop and think who would be interested in such a vehicle.

After all, Hornet sales imploded 64 percent in the second quarter of this year. A mere 1,539 were sold in the US – that’s pathetic.

Speaking with Automotive News, Stellantis said Dodge Hornet production is being paused to “assess the effects of U.S. tariff policies.” We know tariffs are affecting the market and everyone can argue whether that’s a net positive or negative, but don’t try to tell us it will bring the end of popular model lines.

But Stellantis is blaming the tariffs for its other shortcomings lately, so why not use it as an excuse for why Hornets aren’t selling? This feels too much like when automakers were blaming every last problem on covid back in the day – it’s a lazy way of handling problems.

As we’ve covered countless times, Stellantis as an organization is riddled with problems and the way it’s handling the Dodge Hornet not selling is just another sign of how bad things are inside the company.

Dodge, along with Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler, really should be spun off into an American-only company headed by Americans who get what American consumers want, because Stellantis is clueless.

Image via Stellantis

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