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This Is Where The Dodge Charger Is Made

By: Author Stefan K.

Posted on Last updated:

Categories Sedans & Coupes

This Is Where The Dodge Charger Is Made

We’ve written extensively about the Dodge Charger and its capabilities on this blog. Today we’re going to look at where the Charger is made. This seems to be a straightforward question, but this car consists of many components (engine, transmission, tires, etc.) made in different parts of the world. Let’s start with a quick answer:

Since 2006 Dodge Chargers are assembled at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. However, most of the parts and components of the Charger are manufactured in the United States (3.6L Pentastar engine, Michelin tires and most transmissions), Mexico (HEMI V8’s), or Germany (8HP90 transmission for Hellcat).

However, that certainly doesn’t answer the question entirely. Below, we’ll first dive into detail about the assembly location. After, that we’ll give you the complete rundown of where the engines are made, and we’ll do the same for all transmissions used in this vehicle. Finally, we’ll talk about how to identify which tires you have and where they are manufactured precisely. Read on!

Also read: The Expected Mileage Of A Dodge Charger

What's Inside show

Assembly Location Per Generation

The second generation and third of the Dodge Charger, manufactured between 1968 – 1974 were assembled in Detroit, Michigan – Hamtramck, Michigan – Los Angeles, California, or St. Louis, Missouri.

The fourth generation of the Dodge Charger, manufactured between 1975 – 1978, was assembled in The second generation, and third of the Dodge Charger, manufactured between 1968 – 1974, were assembled in Detroit, Michigan – Hamtramck, Michigan – St. Louis, Missouri, or Windsor, Ontario (Canada).

The fifth generation of the Dodge Charger, manufactured between 1982 – 1987, was assembled in Belvidere, Illinois.

The sixth and seventh generations of the Dodge Charger are assembled in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, at the Brampton assembly plant. The Brampton plant assembles between 200,000 – 250,000 Dodges per year, of which 75,000 – 100,000 of them are Dodge Chargers. This is also where later model Dodge Challengers are assembled.

assembly location of the dodge charger
1) Brampton, Ontario in Canada

Engine

Another critical aspect of the Dodge Charger is, of course, the engine that you have. These engines aren’t made in the exact location where the assembly happens. Let’s first start by looking at the engines that are available in the seventh generation Dodge Charger.

First of there is the 3.6L V6 Pentastar that you’ll find in the SE, SXT, GT (2019), and the SXT w/ Performance Package. What we know from the Pentastar engine is that these are manufactured in three different locations in the United States. These are as follows:

  • Dundee Engine Plant in Dundee, Michigan
  • Trenton Engine Plant in Trenton, Michigan
  • Saltillo South Engine Plant in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico

Besides the 3.6 V6 Pentastar, the Charger also uses various HEMI engines in the seventh generation of the Charger. These are the 5.7 (R/T), 6.2 (SRT8, SRT392, and Scat Pack), and 6.4L (Hellcat) V8 HEMI’s. All HEMI engines are made at the Saltillo South Engine Plant in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico.

You may want to check what’s the difference between Daytona and Scat Pack, or which Dodge Charger is the fastest, all generations included.

engine manufacturing locations dodge charger
1) Trenton, Michigan 2) Dundee, Michigan 3) Ramos Arizpe, Mexico

Transmission

This article has already talked extensively about what kind of transmissions are used in the Dodge Charger across all generations. In this article, we’ll focus on where the transmissions for the seventh generation Charger are made. These are:

  • 5-speed W5A580 automatic (2011–14 V6 and V8) (2011-present Charger Pursuit)
  • 8-speed 845RE automatic (optional, 2012–2014 V6s. standard as of 2015)
  • 8-speed 8HP70 automatic (2015-present, non-Hellcat V8s)
  • 8-speed 8HP90 automatic (2015-present, Hellcat only)

These transmissions are made at the following plants:

  • 5-speed W5A580 automatic is made at the Indiana Transmission Plant II, on the north side of Kokomo
  • The 845RE and 8HP70 are designed by ZF in Friedrichshafen, Germany. ZF also produces their transmission at this location. However, the Dodge Chargers use an American made variant of this transmission which Chrysler manufactures at the Indiana Transmission Plan II, in Kokomo.
  • 8-speed 8HP90 automatic is made in
transmission manufacturing locations dodge charger
1) Kokomo, Indiana 2) Saarbrucken, Germany

Tires

Where the tires of a Dodge Charger are made is a bit more tricky to answer. The reason for this is that Dodge does not provide exact information about what brand tires they use on the Charger in the owner manuals. Therefore, we’re left with information that’s available on the internet as well as the research we can do ourselves. What we did find is the following.

Modern-day Dodge Chargers come equipped with Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires. Michelin has factories in Alabama, North and South Carolina, Indiana, and Arkansas, making it likely that the tires on the Charger are made in one of these factories.

Suppose you want to know exactly where the tires of your Dodge Charger are made, then you can look up the DOT code on the side of your tires. This code is not that large, so you’ll have to take a moment to find it. It’s an extended code of letters and numbers that starts with the letters ‘DOT’. DOT stands for Department Of Transportation.

After the DOT letters, you’ll find a combination of three letters, numbers, or a mix. For example, ‘1M3’. In this case, 1M3 indicates Michelin makes the tire in Greenville, South Carolina. You can search on the internet for the specific three number/letter combination you have to find the exact manufacturer and location where the tires are made.

Who Designed The Dodge Charger?

The first generation of the Dodge Charger (like the Challenger) was originally designed by Carl Cameron. Carl was not only responsible for the design of the 1966 Dodge Charger but also for the 1967 Dodge Dart and 1970 Dodge Challenger. Carl spent many years at Chrysler and passed away on September 5, 2006.

The second generation of the Charger was designed by Harvey J. Winn who, at the time, was a senior designer at Dodge. Unfortunately, it’s unclear who was responsible for the design of the third, fourth and fifth generation of the Charger because the design was co-created with Plymouth.

The sixth generation of the Charger, manufactured between 2006 – 2010, was designed by Ralph Gilles and Freeman Thomas. Ralph Gilles was Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler before being promoted to Head of Design for Fiat-Chrysler in April 2015. Ralph was also responsible for the design of the Chrysler 300 which was sold from 2005 onwards. Freeman Thomas worked for DaimlerChrysler between 1999 – 2005 before he made a change to Ford in 2005. At DaimlerChrysler he was Vice President of the Advanced Product Design Strategy.

The seventh generation of the Charger is once again designed by Ralph Gilles who is still the Head of Design for Fiat-Chrysler.

Also read: 19 Common Problems Of A Dodge Charger

Are Chargers American Made?

Dodge Chargers manufactured from 2006 onwards are not American-made. The assembly of the car is done in Brampton, Ontario in Canada. The 3.6L engines are generally manufactured in Michigan although all HEMI engines are manufactured in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico. Most transmissions are made in Kokomo, Indiana except for the 8HP90 for the Hellcat which is made in Queretaro, Mexico.

Sources

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