A legendary car that we all know, and have seen on the roads of America for more than 60 years, has just disappeared. What happened? The brand has taken an unprecedented decision and has stopped producing it: the pressure that the new fuels are exerting is very strong, and they have had to give in, with the consequences that we will now show you (and that you will soon see on the highways).
An era in mobility has just ended in America: we are losing our most iconic car
Chevrolet Malibu is one of the famous sedans manufactured by the American car giant, which was introduced in 1964. It is a close to 60 years long model run. GM has now confirmed that the current generation of Malibu will cease production in 2024.
This decision is made because the company aims at investing in the production of new innovations like EVs as well as reacting to fluctuations in customer preferences. Though sales of sedans, and midsize sedans like the Malibu as shown above have reduced steadily in the recent past due to the push for more SUVS.
This transformation coupled with the general shift occurring in the automobile industry where there is a scrapping of all combustion systems has made GM to phase out the Malibu after the six models. The discontinuation can be explained by changes in the overall market environment and customer demand patterns.
This car disappears from America: 60 years that will now go down in history and be forgotten
The Ford Sedan is a victim of a maturing market for automobiles in the United States and the shift towards sport utility vehicle and trucks. It is even more noteworthy that the tendencies observed over the past several years show that consumers increasingly prefer trucks and SUVs to traditional sedans.
Whereas sedans reigned supreme as the top segment by sales in America, the sales of these automobiles have plummeted in the past decade. From the research in the automobile market, it forecasted that the sedan only makes up around 22% of total car sales in U. S in 2023.
Some of today’s newer, larger vehicles like SUV’s and crossovers with awd appeal to consumers demanding more cargo capacity and ability. In addition, sedans compete in place with Asian and European models which are perceived to be either more chic or superior.
This might not be the only car we lose: other Sedans that are on the fritz
GM has been cutting some of its sedan models recently as it moves away from car production more so, including the Cruze, Sonic, and Cobalt models. Another automobile brand to join the list of discontinued sedan models by General Motors includes Chevy Malibu, Chevrolet Impala, Cadillac CT6 and XTS, and Chevrolet Volt.
They have decided to discontinue most of its car models as it shifts to trucks and SUVs which are now the most demanded products on the market. While the demand of cars in the US has reduced, trucks and SUVS now contribute more than 70% of GM sales in the US while only 27% offer cars.
The end of the production of the Malibu, Impala, Volt, and other sedans reflects a profound altering of GM’s strategy, focusing not on the passenger cars anymore. Hoping to be right about this, the company has invested a lot of capital in trucks and SUVs in anticipation of them being the next big thing for car buyers.
The disappearance of the Chevrolet Malibu can be interpreted in many ways, but we do not believe that it is due to the disinterest that the population has in this brand. Even Tesla could not stand up to it among the more traditional segments of the population, something that the new engines have now achieved. Among them are hybrids, electrics, or, of course, hydrogen, which comes to take this iconic car ahead.
