In a major shift for the automotive industry, General Motors has announced that it will cease production of the Chevrolet Malibu this year. The last sedan sold by the company’s biggest brand, the Malibu will end its run in November as the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas is reconfigured to produce a new generation of the Chevrolet Bolt EV. This means that GM’s mainstream Chevrolet brand will now only sell trucks, SUVs, and the Corvette sports car in the US.
The decision to discontinue the Malibu comes as no surprise given that traditional cars make up less than 20% of US auto sales, according to Cox Automotive. In recent years, automakers have been shifting their focus towards SUVs and trucks due to their higher profit margins and consumer demand for larger vehicles.
Despite being older than popular competitors like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, the last generation of the Malibu sold over 130,000 units last year which was a 13% increase from the year before. However, with consumer preferences shifting away from sedans towards SUVs and trucks, it was only a matter of time before GM made this decision.
First introduced in the 1960s as a more luxurious version of the Chevrolet Chevelle known as the Chevelle Malibu, The Malibu became its own distinct model by
