General Motors has announced that the Chevrolet Malibu, the last sedan sold by the company’s biggest brand, will cease production this year. The Malibu’s production will end in November as the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, where it is built, is reconfigured to produce a new generation of the Chevrolet Bolt EV. This means that General Motors’ mainstream Chevrolet brand will now only sell trucks, SUVs, and the Corvette sports car in the United States.
Chevy’s main competitor, Ford, made a similar decision years ago when it stopped selling the Taurus and Fusion sedans, leaving the Mustang as the only traditional car in its lineup. Last year, Chevrolet also stopped producing its Mustang competitor, the Camaro. Traditional cars, which do not fall into the SUV, truck, or van categories, make up less than 20% of US auto sales, according to Cox Automotive.
The last generation of the Malibu was introduced in 2016 and is now older than popular competitors like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. A new version of the Camry, currently available only as a hybrid, has recently gone into production. Despite the Malibu’s age, GM sold over 130,000 units last year, which was a 13% increase from the year before.
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 the 1970s. The Malibu model line ceased production in 1983 but was reintroduced in 1997 and has been in production ever since.