You cannot include Mach-E sales.
Another dynasty in North American vehicle sales has ended. We have already seen Toyota pass GM for the top spot in North America. The Ford Mustang has been dethroned by the Dodge Challenger, and its 14-year-old bones, in 2021. This is unless you add Mach_ sales to Mustang’s total. Which Ford doesn’t do . We’ll get to that later.
Let’s start with the numbers. Dodge reports that 54,314 Challengers were sold in 2021. This is an increase of 3 percent over 2020. The Mustang sales dropped 14.2 percent to 52,414, making 2021 the worst pony car year in 56 years. 2009 was closely followed by 2020 as the worst year. The Chevrolet Camaro continues its freefall, with only 21,893 units sold last year. This is a 26.5 percent drop.
Vehicle |
2021 Sales |
2020 Sales |
Difference |
| Dodge Challenger | 54,314 | 52,995 | +3% |
| Ford Mustang | 52,414 | 61,090 | -14.2% |
| Chevrolet Camaro | 21,893 | 29,775 | -26.5% |
Here’s where things get a little confusing. Ford sold 27,140 Mach Es in 2021. This made it the second-best-selling electric crossover in North America, behind the Tesla ModelY. The Mach-E is a huge success. However, it’s not hard to see how it differs from the Mustang.
Ford lists separate listings for the Mach-E as well as the Mustang in its sales report. Ford also notes that the combined Mustang Mach-E/Mustang sales was 79,554 vehicles. This is a 30.2 increase over Mustang sales in 2020.
Regardless of where you fall on the Mach-E-versus-Mustang debate, there’s no denying that Ford’s traditional pony car is certainly struggling in the sales department. While it is possible to point out the potential global semiconductor shortage as a reason for Mustang’s decline by 2021, that does not explain Mustang’s long-term sales slide that began in 2016. The Challenger might be a good example of Dodge’s ability to occasionally unveil new trims and packages, which may keep buyers interested. The Dodge Challenger is the North American pony car king.