The North American motorist's great disenchantment with the sedan has claimed a new victim. General Motors will stop building the Chevrolet Malibu, its latest affordable sedan. This model with a venerable name was launched in 1964, when GM dominated the automobile sector and the American economy.
Faced with the success of SUVs, GM's two rivals in Detroit, Stellantis and Ford, have also virtually eliminated sedans, compacts and hatchbacks from their North American offerings.
Foreign manufacturers like Toyota, Honda and Hyundai still sell hundreds of thousands of compact sedans each year, but far fewer than 20 and 30 years ago, when the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord were among the most popular vehicles in North America. In April, Japan's Subaru announced it would stop building its Legacy sedan next year.
GM produces the Malibu at its plant in Fairfax, Kansas. Production will cease within a few months, then GM will re-equip the plant to build the new Chevrolet Bolt – an electric car – and the Cadillac XT4, a luxury SUV.
PHOTO STEVE FECHT, PROVIDED BY CHEVROLET TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Current versions of the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV are assembled at GM's Lake Orion, Michigan plant.
Consumers prefer SUVs and vans – taller and larger – deemed more suitable for transporting children and leisure equipment (bicycles, kayaks, etc.). Manufacturers have encouraged this trend by offering more and more SUVs, more massive and more expensive than sedans and compacts.
When it was introduced in 1964, the Malibu was a premium car. In 1968, GM added a sporty version, the Malibu SS. Shaken by foreign competition and forced to restructure, GM stopped making the Malibu in 1983, then relaunched it in 1997. But it almost always sold less well than the Camry and Accord.
Sales are collapsing
In total, GM has sold more than 10 million Malibu. But sales have collapsed recently. In 2023, GM sold 130,000 Malibu, with deliveries falling 47% during the last quarter. Ten years ago, GM sold about 200,000 Malibu's a year.
PHOTO KIN CHEUNG, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
1965 Chevrolet Malibu on display at the 2013 Guangzhou, China Auto Show
In 2023, GM announced the end of Chevrolet Camaro, a sporting icon of the 1960s and 1970s, but maintained production of the Chevrolet Corvette. Its Cadillac brand builds two gasoline sedans and plans to launch an all-electric luxury sedan, the Celestiq, this year. All other GM models in the North American market are now trucks or SUVs.
In 2020, Ford removed sedans from its lineup in North America, keeping the Mustang as its sole car. Stellantis, owner of Chrysler, makes almost exclusively pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans, but the company will launch an electric version of its Dodge Challenger sports car in 2025.
The Malibu name could return, on a future electric vehicle. Manufacturers have often resurrected old model names, especially those that have left fond memories with buyers.
This article was published in the New York Times.
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