The Sonic, Cruze and Impala are already dead or on life support.
In the veritable tsunami of SUVs from the Trax to the Suburban, Chevrolet’s sedans are not long for this world. The Cruze was shown the door already, while the Impala will roll off into the sunset by January 2020. Now, Automotive News reports the only car to avoid execution, the Malibu, will indeed leave the lineup — but not for awhile yet.
Right now, information on Chevrolet and GMC’s revamped lineup pegs another five years or so of life for the long-lived Malibu. After an initial run between 1964 and 1983, Chevrolet started producing the Malibu again in 1997, and has been building it ever since. The current model has been around since 2016, and just received a light refresh for 2019. AutoNews suggests the company will refresh this generation’s model in 2022, before ultimately killing it off in 2024. In its place will be an “indirect” replacement, which will most likely be one of the 23 EVs GM will reportedly launch within the next five years.
Apart from all the EVs, it’s all about crossovers and trucks in GM’s future lineup. We’re expecting to see new versions of the Chevy Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon by next year. Then there’s also Chevy’s full-fleged crossover lineup, including the Trax, Equinox, Blazer and Traverse that will likely carry the brand into the next decade. Eventually, we’ll see new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon models, but perhaps not until 2023.
So, time to pour one out for the Chevy Malibu, if indeed you’ll end up missing it at all. In my opinion, it is a good-looking car and it drives well enough. The ninth-generation model also sells well, despite its sales falling to 65,171 units so far this year, through June 2019. That still makes it one of the brand’s better selling models, even if it’s falling out of favor with the rest of the sedan market.
