End of the road to the Malibu
For years, the mid-size sedan market was in decline. Some manufacturers have bailed out the segment. Even class stalwarts like the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry aren’t immune to the downtrend. The Fusion was discontinued by Ford in 2020. However, the Chevrolet Malibu remains.
It seems, however, that the future of the Malibu is in jeopardy. According to CarsDirect Chevrolet has stopped accepting orders for the mid-size sedan. Chevrolet spokesperson Kevin Kelly stated to the website that “in relation to the Malibu we are no longer accepting any additional orders because we have received sufficient orders to fulfill 22 model years.” This is not a confirmation or denial that the vehicle will be discontinued. Rumours about the model’s death in 2023 were also floating around, but Chevrolet remains tight-lipped about its future.
The Spark hatchback was discontinued by Chevrolet earlier this week. This leaves the Malibu the only non-electric family-oriented car in the US and Canada. Other models include the Corvette, Camaro and Camaro. However, even this model is in decline due to discontinuation rumors that occurred a few months back.
The Malibu was barely able to make a dent last year in the mid-size sedan market. According to the company’s sales report for 2021, the car had only 39,376 new owners. The Toyota shifted 313,79 Camry sedans in the same time period while the Honda Accord’s total for 2021 is 202.676 units. The Malibu was outsold by the Nissan Altima (103.777 units), Hyundai Sonata (91.3142 units) and the Kia K5 (92.326 units). Chevrolet gave the mid-size sedan some updates in 2022 despite that. The entry-level, but slow-selling Malibu L was dropped by Chevrolet. Instead, the LS became the new base model. The mechanical parking brake was also eliminated in favor of an electronic one. The 2022 Malibu is available for purchase starting at $ 24,395.