Dodge showcases electric Charger Daytona with new virtual experience

Dodge is entering the virtual realm as it works to win over consumers who might be skeptical of the muscle car brand’s move into battery power.

The new Dodge Charger Virtual Experience lets users interact with the brand’s first electric vehicle, the Charger Daytona, and learn about its capabilities.

The virtual portal, accessible via smartphones and other mobile devices, is hosted by automotive enthusiast and content creator Garrett Reed, who guides users through the experience with descriptions of the electric powertrain and features such as the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, the artificial exhaust note that brings a unique roar to the EV space.

Users can interact with the car by swiping their screens to open the hatch or frunk and turn on the LED lights. They can change paint colors and explore a 360-degree view of the interior.

The virtual showroom lets users watch the “Save the Planet” commercial for the Daytona that debuted in December and the March 2024 launch video that has former Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis going back in time to talk to the Dodge brothers and detail the advancements of the brand’s inaugural EV.

Consumers can access the portal through a QR code in dealership showrooms, Dodge auto show displays, National Hot Rod Association races and more events throughout the year.

Dodge will promote the virtual reality experience at the New York Auto Show this month after using it at some smaller events, said Dodge CEO Matt McAlear.

“We wanted to come to market in a unique way,” McAlear told Automotive News. “This is an all-new vehicle, there’s nothing carryover about it. … We said we have to figure out how to get this entire story out to the public. All-new powertrains — everything’s different than we’ve been preaching for the last 10 to 15 years.”

Sign up to get our monthly Done Deals newsletter focused on the latest dealership transactions and insights into the buy-sell market.

The idea stemmed, in part, from the Charger Daytona launch video with Kuniskis, which also took place in a virtual environment. McAlear said the brand had assets created for that effort and decided to put them to use to make its marketing dollars go further.

“We said, ‘What about this virtual world?’ We kind of took people back in this virtual world for the launch of the vehicle,” McAlear recalled. “What if we use that same idea to educate people on this vehicle?”

Users of the Dodge Charger Virtual Experience can explore the interior and exterior of the R/T and Scat Pack trims.

Table of Contents

A multipurpose information tool

McAlear said a “unique twist” with the Charger Virtual Experience is that “rather than forcing people to go through a linear education and teach them everything that we wanted them to know, we said, ‘Everybody likes something different.’ Some people are about the powertrain, some are about the look, some are about the technology and the options, so we wanted to create an experience that let them navigate and build their own story and get what they wanted out of it.”

The portal was designed for consumers as well as dealerships. It’s something salespeople can use on the showroom floor with a prospective buyer, McAlear said.

The virtual approach provides a change of pace from what Dodge normally does with new vehicles, he said. Rather than send out traditional merchandising kits to dealerships, the brand gives them small stickers with the QR code to display on the showroom floor for customers to scan.

Those who do so are immediately taken to the virtual portal without having to download anything.

Dodge has integrated the virtual experience into dealership training as well. McAlear said the portal is available as a tool in the training program that’s underway in 13 cities to acquaint salespeople with the Charger Daytona’s technology.

And unlike old-school vehicle brochures or point-of-sale information kits, Dodge can keep updating the portal with new ideas. Details about the Charger’s gasoline variants could be added when they go on sale later this year, for example.

“If you want to update or make changes, this can evolve,” McAlear said. “Once we learn where consumers like to spend time, we can move things around. We can see what they like to click on; we can change the information.”