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.
Chevy Bolt EUV (Source: Chevrolet)
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.
2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Redline Edition (Source: GM)
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.
2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV 1LT (Source: Chevrolet)
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%
GM US EV market share (GM estimates)
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.
Founded in 1689, Husqvarna was a musket maker for the king of Sweden – but now, the company best known for quirky motorcycles and commercial riding mowers is becoming an innovator in the field of robotics, and its latest fleet of electric autonomous mowers are eager to get grazing.
Husqvarna’s autonomous lawnmowers made history earlier this year at the AIG Women’s Open, when they became the first autonomous groundskeeping solution to see duty during a UK Major golf week.
“At the AIG Women’s Open, the Husqvarna portfolio is helping us deliver this goal through improved resource management, regular lightweight mowing and reduced carbon usage,” explains Royal Porthcawl’s Course Manager, Ian Kinley, who has championed the use of robotic technology at the course. “With the AIG Women’s Open set to be the largest-ever women’s sporting event in Wales, we know there’s tremendous pressure to produce playing surfaces that are worthy of such a high-profile event.”
Events like the AIG Women’s Open are proving that the little robot Huskies can get the job done quietly, sustainably, and with significantly less operator input. As such, you’d think everyone at Husqvarna would be excited about them.
You’d be wrong. The company’s franchise dealers have been hesitant to push them forward, effectively putting the parent company in the position of going B2C, or going home.
“Dealers live and breathe the previous technology,” said Yvette Henshall-Bell, Husqvarna’s President of its Forest and Garden division for Europe, in that same Forbes piece. “They want to protect that servicing, that aftermarket revenue. Whereas if they really thought about what the customer’s problems are and the job to be done, they would be looking at a completely different solution.”
A solution, frankly, that looks a lot like a little robot mower.
The bigger CEORA can handle up to 18 acres of ground twice each week, while the Automower, with its 80V battery and pinpoint precision EPOS (Exact Positioning Operating System) software, can handle another 2.5 acres. Both are fully electric, and can guide themselves back to their pens to recharge as needed.
Prices aren’t public, but the Husqvarna CEORA and Automowers are available as part of a custom lease package through Husqvarna Finance that will include access to the company’s customizable back end and ongoing support. Check with your local dealer for more.
Electrek’s Take
As a typically pro-union, pro-labor type of guy, I am hesitant to heap praise upon a robot taking away anyone’s job. That said, it does seem to be difficult for landscapers and construction crews to keep and find good labor at rates they can afford (and, let’s face it – the current Trump Administration isn’t going to be making that any easier). As such, if companies like Husqvarna and John Deere and Einride and others can build a demonstrably better mousetrap at a compelling price point … good for them. (?)
Let us know what you think in the comments.
SOURCES: Forbes, Golf Monthly; images by Husqvarna.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Apple CarPlay possibly coming to Tesla cars, VW getting access to Superchargers, a Toyota electric pickup, and more.
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2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
US EV sales declined in October following the expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit on September 30, and the average transaction price (ATP) edged up, according to initial estimates from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive brand. However, there are still deals to be had.
Kelley Blue Book’s initial estimates show that US EV sales fell to 74,835 in October, down 48.9% from September, which was a record month, and 30.3% year-over-year.
Prices also ticked up. The average transaction price (ATP) for a new EV climbed 1.6% month-over-month to $59,125, which is 2.3% higher than a year ago.
Tesla didn’t escape the downturn, but it held up better than the overall EV market. The company’s ATP fell 1.1% from September to $53,526, and its prices are 5.5% lower than they were in October 2024. Sales of the Model 3 and Model Y both declined month-over-month, and overall Tesla sales decreased by 35.3% from September and 23.6% year-over-year, which are smaller declines compared to the broader EV segment.
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Cox Automotive senior analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty said the shift wasn’t surprising:
We expected this shift in the electric vehicle market. With the IRA-backed sales incentives gone, lower-cost EV volume was hit hard, pushing the mix toward more luxury and driving October’s EV ATP to a 2025 high of $59,125 – now $9,359 above the industry average. Affordability has always been the core challenge with EV sales, and this reset only underscores how critical it is to bring more attainable EV options to market.
Electrek’s Take
September was a record-breaking month for both EV deals and sales. Dealers were offering all sorts of sweet incentives to stack with the federal tax credit to move cars off the lot. October’s sales drop was entirely anticipated, like a pounding headache after a big blowout party.
We didn’t know what the post-federal tax credit EV market would look like. As Valdez Streaty rightly states, EVs do have a higher ATP than the industry average. But it turns out that, so far, it’s not all doom and gloom, and the federal tax credit isn’t the only incentive in town.
Every month, I compile great EV lease deals, and for the last few months, some EVs’ monthly lease payments have been cheaper than before the federal tax credit expired. Many states are still offering rebates on EV purchases, and dealers still have really good deals. While cheaper models would definitely be welcome, there are good deals available right now.
And let’s not forget the fact that EVs are much cheaper to drive than gas cars, with or without that tax credit.
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