The Chevrolet Malibu, which has been the last sedan in General Motors’ main brand, will no longer be produced this year. This was announced by the company and production of the Malibu will come to an end in November as the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, where it is built, will be reconfigured to produce the new generation of the Chevrolet Bolt EV. With this decision, General Motors’ Chevrolet brand in the United States will now only sell trucks, SUVs, and the Corvette sports car.
Following in Ford’s footsteps, who stopped selling the Taurus and Fusion sedans last year leaving only the Mustang in their line-up, Chevrolet has decided to discontinue its traditional cars besides the Corvette. Interestingly, Chevrolet also discontinued its competitor to the Mustang, Camaro last year. Despite being one of the oldest models on offer today with a history dating back to 1960s as a more luxurious version of Chevelle, Malibu sold over 130 thousand units last year indicating its continued popularity among consumers.
This trend seems to align with industry standards as traditional cars represent less than 20% of US auto sales according to Cox Automotive. The Malibu has had a long journey from being a luxurious version of Chevelle in 1960s to becoming its own distinct model by 1970s and then being discontinued for almost a decade before being resurrected again in 1997. However with this latest move by General Motors’ Chevy brand it seems that they are moving towards focusing more on trucks and SUVs as well as electric vehicles with their upcoming Bolt EV model.