- Report claims business case for a 7th-gen Camaro wasn’t strong enough to move forward.
- A new Camaro hasn’t been ruled out, but its chances of happening are slimmer now.
- Chevrolet aimed to make the next Camaro more affordable to broaden its appeal.
Update: A GM spokesperson reached out to clarify that the report of executives shutting down the project are speculative, and that ‘nothing has been confirmed by GM.’ The original story follows below.
Regardless of whether you prefer a Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, or Dodge Challenger, Ford has to be applauded for keeping its pony car alive while its rivals have killed off their competitors. For quite some time, Chevy was thinking about creating a new-generation Camaro to take the fight to the seventh-generation Mustang, but according to a new report, the project was just dealt a major blow.
According to unnamed sources who spoke with GM Authority, a group within General Motors recently pitched a proposal for a next-generation Camaro, with the backing of several GM executives. As is always the case with possible future car projects like this, they were asked to present a business case for the new model.
Read: Ford Mustang Sales Skyrocket 54% In August As Camaro And Challenger Retire
However, after showing their proposal to GM decision makers, GM Authority reports that the project was “blown apart,” because the business case simply wasn’t strong enough.
While this doesn’t mean a new Camaro is completely dead in the water, a source acknowledged while the project is “still in play…the light at the end of the tunnel is now dimmer.”
Lessons From The C8 ‘Vette
Before this report, GM had been allegedly pushing to make any future Camaro more affordable and attainable than the previous model. By cutting the price, Chevy could broaden its appeal and make it a compelling option for younger buyers. This is exactly what it did with the C8 Corvette, undercutting all of its mid-engined rivals and making it appeal to a broader base of customers.
There’s no doubt that getting senior GM executives to approve a new Camaro will be much more difficult now than it would have been several years ago. GM is investing billions into electric vehicles and opening several factories to assemble battery packs across the United States. If the Camaro is to ever return, it would likely need to be built around a platform that would offer powertrain flexibility, meaning ICE, hybrid, and EV versions of the beloved muscle car.
