Tariffs Could End One Of The Cheapest Stellantis Crossovers In America originally appeared on Autoblog.
2026 Hornet Production Postponed
Stellantis once looked like it was holding all the right cards: a global footprint, a diverse portfolio of brands, and long-standing supply chains from the FCA era. Under a multi-national conglomerate with production hubs all over the world, individual brands could expand their manufacturing capacity and offer a greater variety of products, and sharing platforms and components increased efficiency. But thanks to the threat of increasing tariffs, this approach may now prove to be costly for the Italian-made 2026 Dodge Hornet, which is a mildly revised Alfa Romeo Tonale.
Stellantis has postponed production of Dodge's compact utility vehicle for 2026 while it takes time to "assess the effects of U.S. tariff policies" on imported goods, reports Automotive News, and given that President Trump has now threatened additional tariffs of 30% against the European Union (and Mexico), that assessment may take some time.
Hornet's Survival In Doubt
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With 25 percent tariffs directly affecting the Hornet, could the nameplate be headed for the grave again soon? Without a trade deal or loophole to exploit, Stellantis may be forced to move production to America or, yes, even retire the model. Sales haven't been quite as good as Stellantis would have hoped, though they were initially promising.
When the Hornet was reintroduced as a CUV, it got 14,000 pre-orders in the first 48 hours, and its first full year on sale (2024) saw some 20,559 units shifted in the U.S., but in the first half of 2025, sales have fallen a whopping 52%, and the second quarter was especially painful with just 1,539 deliveries representing a decline of 64%.
Tonale Isn't That Popular Either
Related: Stellantis Recalls Nearly 49,000 Alfa Romeos and Dodges Over Rearview Camera Issue
Speaking with The Drive in 2022, an Alfa Romeo insider claimed that the cheaper Hornet's arrival may have irritated some executives at the Italian company, calling it "a [CAFE standards] compliance car" because not enough was changed to make it a Dodge, and with its base price at a little over $31,000 and the Tonale starting at almost $40k, it wouldn't be surprising if indeed Alfa Romeo was frustrated over the impact its similarly styled corporate cousin might have on the success of the crossover it created first. Whether that had a direct influence or not, the Tonale hasn't been a strong seller either, with just 3,383 examples moved last year.
Worse still, recent reports indicate that the vehicle may not have been produced to the highest standards, with one dealer reportedly telling the owner of a year-old Tonale who was disgruntled with a rusting tailgate that it's "100% normal," apparently due to a design flaw in the drainage channels. Annoyingly, the rust appears on the inside panel and has not yet perforated the visible exterior, so warranty coverage does not apply. Some owners have posted images of seamless tailgates without the issue, but others (including Hornet buyers) have reported battery issues, adding more headaches for dealers trying to sell in a competitive crossover segment.
With these and other issues evident in various Reddit posts, neither vehicle seems likely to see a quick turnaround in sales. If the 2026 Hornet and refreshed Tonale do evade tariffs to reach America for 2026, we hope to see some improvements in these areas. In the meantime, there's plenty of 2024 and 2025 inventory on both brands' U.S. configurators, sometimes with thousands off the MSRP.
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Tariffs Could End One Of The Cheapest Stellantis Crossovers In America first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 17, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
