GM will retire the Chevrolet Malibu

(DETROIT) – The Chevrolet Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is headed to the scrapyard.

General Motors confirmed Thursday that it will stop manufacturing the car launched in 1964 as the company focuses more on electric vehicles.

The midsize sedan was once the best-selling segment in the United States, a staple in family workshops across the country. But its sales began to decline in the early 2000s as the SUV became more prominent and pickup truck sales grew.

Now, the US car market is dominated by SUVs and trucks. Full-size pickup trucks from Ford, Chevrolet and Ram are the best-selling vehicles in America, and the best-selling pickup truck is Toyota’s RAV4 small SUV.

Last year, midsize cars accounted for just 8 percent of U.S. new vehicle sales, but they accounted for 22 percent in 2007, according to Motorintelligence.com. Still, Americans bought 1.3 million of these cars last year, in a segment dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

GM sold just over 130,000 Malibus last year, 8.5% fewer than in 2022. Sales rose to nearly 230,000 after a redesign for the 2016 model yearbut many of them generated low profits for car rental companies.

But the midsize car segment saw a recovery last year, with sales up nearly 5%.

GM said it has sold more than 10 million Malibuses, completing nine generations since its debut.

GM’s plant in Kansas City, Kansas, which now makes the Malibu and the Cadillac XT4 small SUV, will stop making the Malibu in November and the XT4 in January. The factory will receive a $390 million renovation to manufacture a new version of the Chevrolet Bolt small electric car.

The factory will begin producing the Bolt and XT4 on the same assembly line in late 2025, giving the factory flexibility to respond to customer demands, the company said.

The Wall Street Journal reported the Malibu’s disappearance on Wednesday.