- Chevrolet has officially confirmed that production of the Malibu will end in November 2024.
- The sedan’s production line will be handed over to the second-generation Chevrolet Bolt.
- Assembly of the Cadillac XT4, which is produced at the same plant, will also be paused in November, but it will be resumed in late 2025 once improvements have been made to the facility.
After a 60-year run, the Chevrolet Malibu is saying goodbye. The move reflects the auto industry’s evolving landscape, with manufacturers increasingly prioritizing SUVs and electric vehicles over traditional sedans. This allows GM to dedicate resources to the second-generation, all-electric Bolt, a key player in their future.
Production of the Chevrolet Malibu won’t end immediately. The car will continue to be manufactured alongside the Cadillac XT4 at GM’s Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City until November 4th. Then, production at the factory will be halted to allow the automaker to retool and modify the facility for future vehicles, a Chevy spokesperson confirmed to Carscoops.
Read: All-New Chevy Bolt EV Is Coming In 2025
“When production resumes in late 2025, Fairfax will produce both the Bolt EV and XT4 on the same assembly line, which gives GM flexibility to respond to changes in customer demand,” Chevrolet’s Kevin Kelly told us.
The Fairfax Assembly Plant is the beneficiary of $390 million in investments from GM, which will allow it to build the second-generation Chevrolet Bolt. Unlike the first-generation model, which was discontinued in December 2023, the new EV will be based on the Ultium platform and will be “one of the most affordable all-electric vehicles” on the market.
While production at the Fairfax Assembly Plant is on pause, GM will lay off workers until production resumes. Employees affected by this temporary shutdown will be supported according to the UAW-GM collective agreement.
The Chevrolet Malibu started life in 1964 as the top-line subseries of the Chevelle, and it wasn’t until its fourth generation, in 1978, that it became a fully-fledged model. This isn’t the first time the car has been discontinued, though. In 1983, the Malibu’s original run ended, and production paused until the car returned in 1997 as a front-wheel drive model. Now in its ninth generation, the latest iteration of the sedan went into production in 2015.
Although the Malibu’s production line is being taken by the second-generation Bolt, GM tells us that the car is being discontinued in response to shifting consumer tastes. Like the Subaru Legacy, the popularity of SUVs is ultimately what put the final nail in the Chevy sedan’s coffin.
Sadly for sedan fans, there won’t be a direct replacement for the Malibu in Chevrolet’s lineup.
“The Malibu has been a stalwart offering for nine generations and several decades,” Kelly told us. “However, as consumer choice continues to shift towards compact SUVs, now the largest segment in the US, Malibu customers will find a home in other vehicles in our lineup, with multiple options in terms of size, price and propulsion available to them.”
