GM to phase out the Chevy Malibu as next-gen Bolt EV launch looms
Chevy Malibu production will end later this year as GM prepares to launch new EVs, including the highly anticipated new Bolt EV.
Production of the current Chevy Bolt EV, GM’s top-selling electric car, ended at the end of 2023 as the automaker prepares for its next wave of EVs.
GM CEO Mary Barra says the next-gen Chevy Bolt EV will have “an even better driving, charging, and ownership experience” with new tech and features. As the first Ultium EV in North America to feature LFP batteries, the new Bolt is expected to remain a low-price leader.
Barra confirmed at the Automotive Press Association in December (via Automotive News) that the Ultium-based Bolt will relaunch next year.
During an interview with Daily Drive, GM’s CFO Paul Jacobson said the company is aware of the growing demand for affordable EVs. Jacobson explained this is a big reason why GM is launching an Ultium-based Bolt rather than developing an entirely new platform.
The move will save GM billions, according to its financial leader. “We’ve got a really good product that customers love,” Jacobson explained. “We can realize some of the efficiencies of the Ultium platform using LFP chemistry and technology and make it more profitable for us and significantly improve the business case for it.”
GM to retire Chevy Malibu with next-gen Bolt EV coming
As GM prepares for the new Chevy Bolt EV, it will retire the iconic Malibu nameplate. Over 10 million Chevy Malibu models have been sold since 1964. It’s also Chevy’s only car offered in the US outside the Corvette as the automaker shifts to SUVs and crossovers.
GM plans to end Chevy Malibu production in November as it prepares for its next wave of electric vehicles, including the new Bolt EV.
GM also announced it’s investing $390 million in its Kansas assembly plant to build the new Ultium Chevy Bolt EV. Separately, GM said Cadillac XT4 production will be paused after January 2025 at the facility until it begins to build the Bolt eV on the same assembly line in late 2025.
After losing market share in the US EV market in Q1, GM hopes new models like the Chevy Equinox, Silverado, and Blazer EVs can help it win it back in the second half of the year.
GM accounted for 6.2% of the US EV market through the first three months of 2024, down from 6.9% in Q4 2022 and 8.4% a year ago.
| Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | Q1 2024 |
| 8.4% | 5.4% | 6.6% | 6.9% | 6.2% |
The falling market share is due to Bolt EV sales slipping 64% YOY to just 7,040 in the first quarter. Although Ultium EV sales were up 36%, total EV sales fell over 20%, with the current Bolt being phased out.
Source: Reuters
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Chevron is not seeing signs that the U.S. is close to a recession even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on expectations for oil demand, CEO Mike Wirth said Tuesday.
“There’s no signs that we see at this point that we are in or close to a recession,” Wirth told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “There are signs that growth may be slowing and we have to always be prepared for that.”
The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its growth outlook for the U.S. this year to 1.8%, down from 2.7% previously.
The oil market is expecting reduced demand as a consequence of Trump’s tariffs and the decision by OPEC+ increase production faster than expected, Wirth said. Chevron isn’t changing its capital spending plans in response to drop in prices, the CEO said.
U.S. crude oil prices have fallen about 11% since Trump announced his tariffs on April 2. West Texas Intermediate was last up about 72 cents at $63.80 per barrel. OPEC and the International Energy Agency have cut their demand outlooks for this year.
Wirth said U.S. onshore oil production in patches like the Permian Basin is likely to pull back if prices hit $60 per barrel. Offshore production likely won’t be affected, he said.
“That’s an area where if we were to be at a $60 price or even lower you’re likely to see activity pull back in this sector and you’ll see the production response over a few months,” Wirth said. “That’s what we should watch, not so much the deep water activity.”
Chevron is not expecting a major direct impact on its business from Trump’s tariffs as energy has largely been exempt from the levies, Wirth said.
“The effects that we feel are likely to be more the macroeconomic effects as they flow through the economy,” Wirth said. “The bigger issues would be what would it mean for growth, and global trade and how does that evolve.”
Executives at oil and gas companies were scathing in their criticism of Trump’s tariffs in an anonymous March survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, warning that steel tariffs were raising their costs and low prices could impact their activity.
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Little is known about super-secretive EV startup Slate, but the fledgling brand is rumored to be backed by Jeff Bezos and determined to shake up the existing electric order with an affordable lineup of compact SUVs and pickups with that golden $25,000 price tag.
Now, at least, we know what it’s gonna look like. The battle of the billionaires is on!
Redditor jonjopop over at the spotted subreddit spotted what looks like an early prototype of an unbranded SUV with bizarre “CryShare” wrap. CryShare, as a concept, seems to combine the functionality of a ride sharing app like Uber or Lyft with the familiar (to parent, anyway) idea that small babies will often sleep better in a moving car than in their own cribs … but that’s not what’s important here.
Instead, focus on the vehicle itself – parked on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles without explanation or fanfare, this is our best look yet at the kind of vehicle(s) Slate is likely to reveal in the coming days.
Stumbled upon the Bezosmobile [Slate Automotive…idk?] being revealed with an absolutely bizarre marketing campaign
byu/jonjopop inspotted
Other local automotive journalists caught wind of the public unveiling, too – and our friends at The Autopian (Hi, Matt!) sent their own David Tracy out on the streets of LA to check it out. Tracy took the following video and posted it to Instagram.
The Slate breaking cover and causing buzz just ahead of what’s sure to be a painful Q1 earnings call for Tesla is a masterstroke of marketing – especially as doubts surrounding the viability of a “less expensive” Tesla Model Y or Model 3 continue to mount amid the uncertainty of Trump’s tariffs and declining sales of the brand’s more profitable models both at home and abroad.
As with so much involving Slate, however, there is nothing here written in stone – or even cast in cheese. Nothing has been announced, nothing is promised, and for all we know this might have more to do with the affordable Rivian brand launch, a new BYD, or be a viral marketing bit from some local Art Center design student in (relatively) nearby Pasadena. In fact, about the only thing I think we can say about Bezos (?) new Slate project with confidence today is this: Elon could probably use that drink.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Reddit, The Autopian.
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