DETROIT, MI – The Chevrolet Malibu, the well-known mid-size sedan that was first manufactured and marketed from 1964 to 1983 and then subsequently revived in 1997, is once again getting the ax by the automaker, as Chevrolet announced they will discontinue the model and end its production in November 2024.
The reasoning for the end of the Malibu, according to Chevrolet, is their ongoing shift to the production of electric vehicles (EVs), with the company set to invest $390 million into upgrading their Kansas-based Fairfax Assembly Plant for that purpose.
The Malibu, while not the fanciest car on the road, nonetheless was a fairly popular workhorse of a model, with Chevy noting they had sold over 10 million of them throughout its lifespan.
Automotive experts reportedly found the news of the Malibu’s death surprising, given its still solid sales and the issues that Chevrolet’s parent company, General Motors, has been encountering with the launch of Ultium, the technology platform that it is basing its EV architecture on. To date, GM failed to meet its goal of selling 400,000 EVs during a span of time set between 2022 and mid-2024; in response, the company announced in February that they would be resuming production of plug-in-hybrid vehicles for the American market.
The Malibu was named after the coastal community of Malibu, California, and while the vehicle was marketed mainly in North America, Chevrolet began producing it for the global marketplace starting with its eighth generation. Currently, the Malibu is in its ninth – and obviously, final – generation.
In addition to killing off the Malibu, GM announced they will also be pausing production of the Cadillac XT4 in January while retooling their factory in anticipation of the commencement of the Ultium-based Bolt EV’s production. Production of the Cadillac XT4 is expected to resume near the end of 2025, with the model sharing the same assembly line as the Bolt EV.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.