The Chevy Malibu Hybrid is officially dead. GM has canceled the car because according to a company spokesmen it is working on the next generation of hybrid drive.
The problem is that the Malibu Hybrids were stacking up like unwanted credit card offers in your mail box.
The 2009 Malibu mild Hybrid adds extra cost (about $4,000 to the sticker), and guess what? It adds about 1 mpg gallon to the distance it will go on a gallon of gas on the highway when compared to the standard cheaper 4 cylinder model.
So mild hybrid equals mild sales, which equals mild profits for GM, or in the case of the Malibu Hybrid no profits.
According to Reuters:
"Simply put, the Malibu Hybrid didn’t “pay rent” (i.e., generate meaningful profit) — a new requirement for all vehicles in the GM lineup, as CEO Fritz Henderson put it on his first day on the job, after the Obama administration asked Wagoner to step down. The company can no longer afford to rely on higher-margin SUVs and trucks for profit — even smaller, more fuel-efficient and historically lower-margin cars have to earn their keep with healthy margins. According to a Wall Street Journal report today, GM says the 2009 Malibu hybrids have basically been dead weight, with poor sales and a significant backlog on dealership lots.
Click HERE to follow me on Twitter for the latest news and updates.
