Our sister publication, Ford Authority, has just recently reported that the Ford Fusion will officially be discontinued for North American markets in 2020. While not terribly surprising given Ford’s previously-announced intentions to withdraw from the car segment outright, the move makes us a little worried for GM‘s rival – the Chevrolet Malibu.
Late last year, GM announced plans to discontinue the Chevrolet Volt, Cruze, and Impala, with other GM sedans like the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, and Cadillac XTS to follow suit. The CT6 will not be discontinued, so we’ll attribute that to a communications mishap. But that’s neither here nor there. The bigger picture is that, like Ford, GM is killing off several of its car models and doubling down on more-profitable vehicles, namely pickups, crossovers, and SUVs. Now, with the North American exit of the Ford Fusion imminent, GM – potentially – has one less reason to produce the Chevrolet Malibu.
And it’s not like the Malibu is selling all that well to begin with. Annual Chevrolet Malibu sales volumes have been in decline since a brief peak in 2016, when Chevrolet managed to move 227,881 units. That number fell to 185,857 units in 2017 and 144,542 units in 2018. Now, it appears as though the Malibu is on track to post another sales decline in 2019, with just 34,197 units sold in the first quarter of the year. Assuming that level of performance for all four quarters, GM will end up moving less than 140,000 Malibus in calendar 2019.
To make matters worse, each of those figures is lower than the corresponding numbers posted by the Ford Fusion. In 2016, the Ford Fusion sold 265,840 units, dipping down to 209,623 units in 2017 and 173,600 units in 2018. In the first quarter of 2019, 41,683 units were sold.
Compared to its domestic rivals, the Japanese midsize Honda Accord and Toyota Camry – both of which are segment leaders – are doing quite well. Honda moved 345,225 units of the Accord in 2016, 322,655 units in 2017, and 291,071 units in 2018, while Toyota sold 388,616 units of the Camry in 2016, 387,081 units in 2017, and 343,439 units in 2018.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 (Q1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Malibu | 227,881 | 185,857 | 144,542 | 34,197 |
| Ford Fusion | 265,840 | 209,623 | 173,600 | 41,683 |
| Honda Accord | 345,225 | 322,655 | 291,071 | 64,411 |
| Toyota Camry | 388,616 | 387,081 | 343,439 | 81,684 |
But who knows? Maybe the Chevrolet Malibu will manage to scoop up additional sales following the Ford Fusion’s departure. Here’s to hoping that, GM will double down on the mainstream midsize sedan segment, rather than abandon it.
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Source: Ford Authority
Comments
I hope not.
They’re all taking the ugly black cladding of CUVs and sticking it on their sedans’ nose, where it’s even worse.
I’m surprised no make has tried a tall sedan since the Ford 500/Taurus. But the Toyota Venza was between a sedan and a CUV and not a success.
Vince Burlapp says we need to think of sedans as the new coupes, which fell from favor in the 80’s after several decades of prominence, becoming a niche market.
The Fusion Sport is getting dropped not the entire line. Originally the Fusion was supposed to expire for 20′. I’d said before Ford is quietly waling back it all SUV approach.
This is one more reason for them to keep it around.
Just read on Ford Authority yesterday that about the Fusion. What’s interesting in that article is that the Fusion Hybrid is currently outselling the Prius and it’s not the first time this has happened. Maybe Ford should reconsider.
On this article here, I do find it interesting that all 4 of the main mid sized cars listed are showing signs of down sales for the past few years. Sure, the Accord and Camry sales are still higher and haven’t gone down as much as the Ford/Chevy, but they have not made stupid moves with them (H/T have stayed the course with these and that is what keeps them stronger.) I can only hope Chevy keeps the Malibu and only improves it over time and gives it life for many years.
I’m surprised they didn’t kill this one ahead of the Cruze, since it doesn’t sell nearly as well as what the Cruze did.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra is doing the math especially if she were to import the Chevrolet Malibu from China or Mexico where labor cost are lower which means the potential for higher profits especially with less competition from the cancellation of the Ford Fusion.
A Malibu from anywhere else but the USA is blasphemy. The nameplate is far too important to the Chevelle lineage. You don’t do that to USA heritage nameplates. Chevelle Malibu, Bel Air and the like are sacred to anyone who once loved or still loves Chevrolet. They’ve already tarnished too many nameplates as it is.
Well it’s made in Canada now so….?
GM………..USA heritage???????????????? That doesn’t exist anymore!
BUILD IN THE USA!
You can down vote me, but you know what I’m going to say it true to most people.
The current incarnation of the Malibu should already be blasphemy to those that loved the Chevelle and what it stood for and what it was capable of. While some Chevelle models were plain Jane and today’s Malibu is keeping in that same ho-hum vibe, there will never be the hot rod, customized versions of the current Malibu. Additionally, GM isn’t going to make a blood pumping version of the Malibu. The legend of the Chevelle only lives on in the classics that people so dearly maintain and keep on the road.
My best friend’s older brother had a Chevelle and it was something to behold. It could be, and probably was, customized a hundred different ways. Aside from some Pep Boys, stick on plastic bits, you aren’t going to see people building custom Malibu creations that will see track or car shows.
Where the current Malibu is manufactured is only a shrinking feeling that will make no difference in 10 years when the Malibu is part of GM’s History. In 15 years it will probably come back as an EV.
Sad too. The Fusion is the most competitive midsize family sedan Ford has EVER offered.
I almost bought the Sport trim with the turbo V6, AWD if it had not been for the electrical issues with the first year that package was offered. Really nice optioned, fast and handled better than most other sedans.
It was more obtainable than the SHO.
If we can see Cadillac still offers sedan lineup for us, that means Malibu wouldn’t die.
And, Ford doesn’t really kills sedan, they will make 4-ddor Mustang to replace Fusion, so GM still knows Malibu having its market. Now, Malibu just needs good interior or more sporty design. It would be good, if Malibu as a cheaper version of CT5.
I don’t get it. The 2018 Buick Encore sold around 100,000 units. The Buick Envision sold 30,000 units in 2018. These are not being fazed out. The Chevy Cruze and Malibu both sold 140,000 to 150,000 units each. The Cruze is gone. I understood the Malibu, Camaro, and Corvette were to be spared. The Malibu was saved due mostly to fleet sales, and the fact GM just spent a bunch of money on the plant. If Ford is selling 200,000+ Fusions, why stop making it? GM and Ford still sell less SUVs then cars, but they want to stop making cars, which they sell more of.
Too many beancounters and not enough car people running the show!
GM is losing a whole generation of future customers.
I’d rather keep the Impala and drop the Malibu.
I’m with you. I have a 2014 Impala LTZ. I was hoping to buy a new one when they redesigned it.
The Malibu is made on the same line as the XT4. It doesn’t hurt to keep it around.
But there is a reason its sales are plummeting. All the other competitors have so many features standard, but the Malibu makes it harder and more expensive to get them. It’s a nice car, but it is overpriced.
Chevy this is a good chance to make The Malibu
a even better car , take away that CVT & make the 9speed auto standard across the board , make that 2.0 optional on the LT trim , add a little more standard features to the LS & LT ..
Getting rid of sedans is a horrible idea. Many people do not want to drive an SUV. the only reason Chevy isn’t selling more cars is they don’t promote them(when was the last time you saw an ad for the Chevy Impala?), and spend all their incentive money on SUVs.
It would be a BIG mistake to discontinue the Malibu as well. Honda and Toyota are selling plenty of cars.
FWIW, Malibu hybrids were never plentiful actually (virtually non existent) on dealer lots in our area. Made no sense. So my wife wound up with a Fusion hybrid which she loves. Many moves by Ford and GM make little sense.
I own a 2016 Malibu limited ltz 2.5L the car is awesome, intake and tuned, she flys.
Chevrolet gets alot backwards though, the new cool RS trim should have a little bump in power vs LS,LT
I owned a 05 Trailblazer 4X4, now 4X4 not even an option. I’ve been lucky to have had the 3 GM vehicles I’ve owned to have been made in the USA
The future of the Malibu stands on if it make the needed return on investment.
The other sedans at Cadillac sell at a higher price so the lower volumes are not as much an issue. The Buick models like the Encore and Envision sell globally in much higher numbers than here. Folks it comes down to economics as the CUV sales continue to grow and sedan sales even at Honda and Toyota continue to decline.
If the market should change then it will be around for another gen but if not it will be replaced by a higher profit and volume product.
As for the Chevelle let’s not get overly dramatic. I can say my family here may have owned more Cheveels than everyone here combined at 7 different yeas and 5 of them brand new. The reality is the RWD is long gone and the real performance on also is long gone though the present 4 is more powerful than many of the V8 models offered.
The bottom line is the Nox will easily out sell the Bu and the new Trailblazer and Trax also will sell better than about any small sedan at a profit.
I do not say these things because I like it but because it is the reality of today’s market. We can sit here and factor in only things we want or we can gather all the facts and deal with the realities of what is going on.
Just look around at any parking lot and think how it was not long ago the cars were the majority and today you look they are the clear minority. You can’t explain around that to justify the keeping of declining models.
The same on the gas price lie. Prices may go up but the mpg in today’s models are as good in most cases in many CUV models as they are in similar sized cars. At worse they can average 16% different. That is not enough to change minds.
USApride
I agree, not enough car people working for GM or Ford, these bean counters have destroyed our industry. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with any of these cars and are just as good as anything available out there. I live in Michigan so I see a solid mix of cars and trucks mostly GM, Ford and FCA because in Southeast Michigan that’s what we do, work for the three, I see alot of Jeeps more and more these days too. I remember when GM reintroduced the Malibu and impala name and how excited I was ! I thought YES! They are going to create awesome cars AGAIN! Now they want to stop building them? It’s a bad bad move on GM to do that. Car nuts out there, pray for the next CEO and managers at GM that they will be car enthusiasts! This just sucks.
The Fusion Sport is done for 2019 so this car will soldier on for 2 more model years with reduced offerings. There may even be a further culling of trim levels but that hasn’t been announced yet by Ford.
The Fusion’s higher sales compared to Malibu are probably attributed to the following-
1) It has since 2013 been perceived as a better car than the Malibu
2) Offers AWD where Chevy doesn’t
3) Is better packaged in many cases
4) Offers a very easily obtainable hybrid and a plug in hybrid that the Malibu lacks
5) Offers more engine choices, all with more power than Malibu’s lackluster base 1.5T
6) A questionable CVT that the regular Fusion’s lack
7) More std safety features and advanced features that are available on most trim levels
8) A true V6 high performance variant that Malibu lacks
9) Poor advertising and sales approach that only wants to tout trucks and SUV’s
10) A poor general public feeling towards GM as a whole due to prior bankruptcy, terrible dealership experiences and current poor decisions such as importing from China and culling jobs in the states and moving production to Mexico