Stellantis is bringing its Mopar aftermarket brand into a new market: pet owners who refuse to let their dogs ride in a janky setup.
The Auburn Hills automaker launched Mopaw this month, a line of travel and vehicle-related pet accessories sold through Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat dealerships across the country. The pitch is simple. If you already care about what goes inside your truck, you shouldn’t have to settle for a flimsy pet carrier from a big-box store that barely fits and scuffs your interior.
Tim Kuniskis, who heads American brands, SRT Performance, North American marketing, and retail strategy at Stellantis, made the case directly. “When it comes to making sure our pets are happy and healthy, Americans don’t cut corners, they treat their pets just like a member of the family,” Kuniskis said. “Mopaw accessories bring the car enthusiast and the pet lover together in a way that only an OEM can, so you don’t have to sacrifice fit or finish when traveling with your pets.”
That’s not just brand talk. The numbers behind this launch are real.
$150 Billion in Pet Spending
The American Pet Products Association reports that pet industry expenditures recently topped $150 billion in the United States, with sales still climbing. GlobalVetLink puts the travel stat at roughly 78 percent of American pet owners hitting the road with their animals each year. Stellantis isn’t chasing a niche. It’s chasing a market that’s bigger than most people realize, and it’s doing it through a channel it already owns: the dealership network.
For Mopar, this is an extension of what the brand has always done, which is sell accessories and parts that fit the way OEM components do. No drilling. No zip ties. No hoping the Amazon reviews were accurate.
What’s in the Lineup
The initial Mopaw product line covers the basics and then some. The pet carrier comes from Nemesys Gear and integrates with a vehicle’s back seat latch system, which means it won’t slide around every time you brake hard on I-75. The folding pet kennel uses four tie-down straps and stores flat when you don’t need it, useful for anyone who doesn’t want a bulky kennel eating trunk space on the way to a Lions tailgate.
Interior protection comes from 4Knines, a manufacturer already known in the pet-owner community for heavy-duty seat and door covers. The hammock option is designed to block the gap between front and back seats, which anyone who’s watched a dog fall through that space at 60 miles per hour knows is not a small problem.
The YETI buddy tumbler and dog bowl combination handles hydration on longer drives. Collars, leashes, and branded dog shirts and hoodies round out the merchandise side of things, according to DBusiness Magazine, which first reported the launch details.
The Dealership Angle
This is worth watching for what it tells us about how Stellantis thinks about the dealership experience right now. The company has been pushing hard to make its dealer network feel like more than a transaction point, and adding a lifestyle product category to the showroom floor is part of that. You can pick up a dog carrier while you wait for your oil change. That’s the idea.
It also gives dealers something to sell beyond the standard accessories catalog. Profit margins on aftermarket accessories have always been attractive for dealerships, and pet products carry strong emotional purchase motivation. People don’t comparison-shop dog gear the same way they comparison-shop floor mats.
Mopaw products can be purchased at Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat dealerships, or directly through Mopar’s online store. The full product lineup pulls from a mix of exclusive Mopaw designs and sourced products from established manufacturers like Nemesys Gear, 4Knines, and YETI, with Mopar’s quality standards applied across the board.
For Detroit, where Stellantis employs thousands and the Mopar brand carries real cultural weight among truck and muscle car communities, this isn’t a headline that moves the needle on jobs or investment. But it shows a company reading the market and moving on it faster than most of its competitors. Ford hasn’t done this. General Motors hasn’t done this. Stellantis, operating out of Auburn Hills, got there first with a branded, dealership-integrated solution for a category that 78 percent of American pet owners are already spending money in every time they load up the family dog and hit the highway.
