In a surprising move, General Motors announced that the production of the iconic Chevrolet Malibu will come to an end this year. The last sedan sold by its biggest brand in the US, the Malibu, will stop being produced at the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas in November. The plant will be reconfigured to build the new Chevrolet Bolt EV, signaling a shift towards electric vehicles.
This decision means that GM’s mainstream Chevrolet brand in the US will only sell trucks, SUVs and the Corvette sports car. Ford made a similar move by discontinuing its Taurus and Fusion sedans, leaving only its Mustang as its traditional car. Traditional cars account for less than 20% of US auto sales according to Cox Automotive.
Introduced in 1960 as the Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu, the Malibu has been in production since 1997 but is now officially discontinued. Last year, GM sold over 130,000 Malibus signaling a 13% increase in sales. However, despite its long history and popularity, the final generation of Malibu was introduced in 2016 making it older than competitors like Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. With this decision, Chevy is saying goodbye to one of its most iconic models and embracing a new era of electric vehicles.