Chevy Malibu Sales Decrease 46 Percent To 31,041 Units In Q3 2018
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Chevrolet Malibu sales decreased in the United States, Canada and South Korea in the third quarter of 2018.
Chevrolet Malibu Sales - Q3 2018 - United States
In the United States, Chevrolet Malibu deliveries totaled 31,041 units in Q3 2018, a decrease of about 46 percent compared to 57,263 units sold in Q3 2017.In the first nine months of the year, Malibu sales decreased about 24 percent to 107,458 units.
| MODEL | Q3 2018 / Q3 2017 | Q3 2018 | Q3 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MALIBU | -45.79% | 31,041 | 57,263 | -23.88% | 107,458 | 141,162 |
Chevrolet Malibu Sales - Q3 2018 - Canada
In Canada, Chevrolet Malibu deliveries totaled 1,150 units in Q3 2018, a decrease of about 48 percent compared to 2,214 units sold in Q3 2017.In the first nine months of the year, Malibu sales decreased about 16 percent to 5,433 units.
| MODEL | Q3 2018 / Q3 2017 | Q3 2018 | Q3 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MALIBU | -48.06% | 1,150 | 2,214 | -16.23% | 5,433 | 6,486 |
Chevrolet Malibu Sales - Q3 2018 - South Korea
In South Korea, Chevrolet Malibu deliveries totaled 5,432 units in Q3 2018, a decrease of about 23 percent compared to 7,011 units sold in Q3 2017. TheIn the first nine months of the year, Malibu sales decreased about 56 percent to 11,643 units.
| MODEL | Q3 2018 / Q3 2017 | Q3 2018 | Q3 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MALIBU | -22.52% | 5,432 | 7,011 | -56.41% | 11,643 | 26,709 |
Competitive Sales Comparison
The Malibu’s third quarter sales performance puts it in sixth place in its segment by sales volume, while the Toyota Camry continued to wear the sales crown and the Honda Accord came in second. Both of the models moved more than twice the units of the Malibu.
Third place went to the Nissan Altima, followed by the Ford Fusion (see Ford Fusion sales) in fourth and Kia Optima in fifth as the only model in the segment to see sales increase. The Malibu did outsell the Hyundai Sonata, Volkswagen Passat (see VW Passat sales), Subaru Legacy, Mazda6 (see Mazda6 sales), and the discontinued Chrysler 200 (see Chrysler 200 sales).
Sales Numbers - Midsize Mainstream Sedans - Q3 2018 - United States
| MODEL | Q3 18 / Q3 17 | Q3 18 | Q3 17 | YTD 18 / YTD 17 | YTD 18 | YTD 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAMRY | -20.37% | 84,092 | 105,610 | -6.94% | 262,887 | 282,507 |
| ACCORD | -15.11% | 77,009 | 90,711 | -14.16% | 215,299 | 250,802 |
| ALTIMA | -20.10% | 42,807 | 53,577 | -16.64% | 166,599 | 199,861 |
| FUSION | -27.67% | 37,986 | 52,517 | -21.77% | 124,964 | 159,742 |
| OPTIMA | +31.94% | 32,969 | 24,987 | -5.74% | 79,845 | 84,704 |
| MALIBU | -45.79% | 31,041 | 57,263 | -23.88% | 107,458 | 141,162 |
| SONATA | -14.85% | 26,740 | 31,403 | -24.83% | 80,975 | 107,718 |
| PASSAT | -27.90% | 11,171 | 15,493 | -33.78% | 33,527 | 50,630 |
| LEGACY | -18.76% | 9,665 | 11,897 | -17.03% | 31,080 | 37,461 |
| MAZDA6 | -32.33% | 6,659 | 9,841 | -11.16% | 24,741 | 27,850 |
| 200 | -97.01% | 106 | 3,545 | -94.21% | 1,000 | 17,267 |
| TOTAL | -21.14% | 360,245 | 456,844 | -17.01% | 1,128,375 | 1,359,704 |
Notably, the 46 percent drop in Malibu sales was the biggest contraction in the space during the quarter. The midsize mainstream sedan segment contracted an average of 21 percent in the second quarter of 2018 and 17 percent in the first nine months of 2018.
The GM Authority Take
Chevrolet Malibu sales fell much faster than the segment average during the third quarter, a highly concerning circumstance that puts the vehicle at risk of being cancelled like the Cruze, Impala, and Volt.
We attribute the Malibu’s ongoing sales slump to the following factors:
- An ongoing shift in consumer buying dynamics that favors crossover utility vehicles at the expense of other vehicle types like sedans and hatchbacks, as evidenced by the 15 percent drop of the entire segment during the second quarter
- A strong market reaction to the new Toyota Camry, which doesn’t appear to be deterred by the market shift
- Core product issues for the Chevrolet Malibu that make the vehicle less competitive and therefore less attractive in the marketplace, including a very nice but not standout design, not offering active safety systems as standard equipment (in comparison to its rivals), not offering all-wheel-drive or a performance variant, and an unfriendly trim level structure that requires customers to upgrade to a top-most trim level in order to get various desired features that are either standard or can be optioned a-la-carte on competing models. Additionally, the Malibu is the only model in its segment that can’t be equipped with a roof rack without drilling into the car, a factor that likely pushes consumers who value the feature to crossovers.
Though Chevy refreshed the Malibu for the 2019 model year, we’re not certain that the changes will help sales.
About The Numbers
- All percent change figures compared to Chevrolet Malibu Q3 2017 sales
- In the United States, there were 76 selling days in Q3 2018 and 78 selling days in Q3 2017
- In Canada, there were 75 selling days in Q3 2018 and 76 selling days in Q3 2017
- South Korea sales figures reflect actual vehicle registrations rather than wholesales
- China sales figures represent retail deliveries and not wholesales
The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size sedan sold in most markets where Chevrolet has a business presence. It is currently Chevrolet's second-largest sedan, in the U.S. and Canada, slotting above the subcompact Chevrolet Sonic and compact Chevrolet Cruze but under the full-size Chevrolet Impala. The current, ninth-generation model was introduced in 2016. It rides on the GM E2 platform shared with the Buick Regal, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Holden Commodore NG, and the Cadillac XT4. For 2019 - the fourth model year of the ninth-gen model - the Malibu received a midcycle enhancement, otherwise known as a facelift or refresh, that consists of revised exterior styling, a new Malibu RS trim level, a CVT transmission for L, LS, LT and RS models, a new infotainment system, a new 8-inch reconfigurable driver information center (DIC), LED headlamps on the Premier model, and various other new features. The Chevrolet Malibu is produced at the following GM plants:
About Chevrolet Malibu
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GM lust can’t do it. Too much cost. Without using profits from high profit generators and buying back market share GM will just continue to loose. GM needs to at least make the same standard features and safety features standard. Then loosing money on the vehicle, need to keep ALL of them on the road to at least 100,000 miles at zero cost to the owner through customer service. This is exactly what the leaders did to take this market away from GM in the first place. However with Tesla now in the mix along with the rest of the foreign competition GM will just continue to once again slid into irreversible damage.
In my opinion at this time GM needs to quickly cut all. I mean all. 3, trucks – 3, 4 door sedans – 2 coupes – 5, SUVs. Just branded GM. All standard safety features. Options al a cart.
When you have less sales.
I have a 2016 Malibu hybrid and it has all the options and is a very reliable car have almost 30000 miles on it and live I Alaska and drive with no winter tire and it get the job done but as far as the new vehicles that GM is making we can blame that on the CEO she has no idea what she is doing
The current Malibu in my opinion has always had such great potential but was let down by cost cutting.
The platform is great, with a spacious and ergonomically pleasing interior, and the exterior has great proportions. But unfortunately it’s plagued with a buzzy and underpowered base engine, cheap interior materials, and low feature content for the money. A well baked vehicle, but it lacks the finishing touches.
Okay so I am right now in the market looking for a vehicle. My choices are or were the Chevy Cruze Premier, the Chevy Malibu Premier, VW, Golf/GTI/Golf All-Trak, Jetta, Honda Accord and Honda Civic. I just checked out the Honda Accord, Civic, and Malibu. It is sad that the Malibu’s Interior is considered cheap because the top of the dash is hard Touch plastic as well as the interior paneling all around but mixed with some soft touch materials all around. Funny thing is the Accord is the same but not on the dashboard which is soft touch and front doors. But step in the rear and it is hard touch plastic everywhere. Only car that beats them all is the Toyota Camry for they didn’t skimp out on refined interior materials that make them both look cheap as well as the Mazda 6. Overall the Accord looks more Upscale than the Malibu in design but I came away with both on the same level of quality. That’s just me. Anywho I decided to eliminate Chevy and Honda completely frommmy choices. One because I think it will be discontinued by the time I am ready to buy and the other because one of the models the reliability has gone down quite a bit.
How about you make an interior that belongs in the year 2018 materials wise. I assist a lot of people for whatever reason to get new cars and since I am a GM fan I always push them towards a GM car first. They all laugh at the interiors. I mean I tried talking my friend to go from the S7 he had to a CT6 since he wanted something slightly bigger and he legit thought I was crazy. He did like the 3.0TT a lot but just couldn’t get passed that interior at all. The only vehicle I have had two successful transfers into the GM family is the all new Buick Enclave. Both got Avenir ones. The third paid a lot more and got the Q7
I have tried for years to get people into Cruze, Malibu and such with zero success. They all go to Toyota, Honda, Nissan. The crazy thing is that they actually preferred the Infotainment system in GM cars but couldn’t stand the cheap interiors.
GM needs to do better in the interior department or Barra needs to step aside.
Interesting as I just looked at 3 new 2019 Malibu LT’s that were sitting next to 4 2018 LT models. Of note was the base price for the 2018 LT model vs the 2019. Yes the 2019 price has increased from 25220 to 26445 or an increase of 1225 for the volume selling mid trim level LT!
The 2019’s did gain heated seats and remote start but lost the rear exterior door handle unlock buttons. Equipped with the extra cost red paint, two option packages that included advanced safety items that are mostly std on other mid trim level competitors costing 1095.00 the sticker price on two of the 2019 LT carts was over 29K! And for that price the car lacked a leather steering wheel and shifter, no LED headlights, no auto day/night mirror, auto up only on the driver’s power window, no power moonroof, no navigation, no smart trunk opening feature, no radio upgrade and no 110V rear outlet like last years car had and a cheap hard plastic small glove box with no light! And lets not forget that the seat belts can no longer be adjusted on this car or the Cruze in yet another cost cutting move by Malaize Mary and the fact that this car has the lowest powered engine in it’s entire class!
Now lets compare the 2019 Fusion SEL that has an MSRP of 29475. It has a 10 way power driver seat and a 6 way power passenger seat with premium Active X seating material, a leather wheel and shift knob, Bliss, premium 11 speaker audio system, 18″ deluxe alloy wheels, rain sensing wipers, lane keep system, auto dimming rear view mirror, keyless entry keypad, auto dimming driver’s side mirror with memory, LED headlights, 185 Hp v s 160 and adjustable seat belts.
It’s like they are de contenting on purpose.