A MAJOR car brand is rolling out its last ever sedan this year – after a history spanning nine generations.
The Chevrolet Malibu will end production in November to make way for a new focus on electric cars.
General Motors’ Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City will be overhauled to make the new Chevrolet Bolt EV.
Chevrolet has sold more than 10million Malibu models over the nine generations since the car’s debut.
But Chevrolet told Car and Driver it is now killing off the American icon.
First introduced in 1964, the Malibu was once the best-selling car of its kind in the US.
In the 1970s pro stock car racers used the Malibu body for NASCAR competitions – scooping 25 different titles.
The Malibu had enjoyed a new 27-year lease of life after it was brought back from the dead in 1997.
But the sedan had in recent years been dogged with mounting problems.
In 2014 General Motors recalled more than 114,000 Malibus because a glitch in its brake-control computer could disable the power brakes.
The following year, GM recalled another 92,000 Malibus because the car’s sunroof could close without warning.
A mid-sized sedan, the Malibu sold at around $26,000 (£20,500) for basic models.
General Motors will splash out a whopping $390million (£307million) on its Kansas factory, which currently makes the Malibu.
The plant will be rejigged to start production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV towards the end of next year.
Chevrolet is still General Motors’ biggest-selling brand – but will now only sell trucks, SUVs and the two-seat Corvette sports car.
The car maker stopped making its Ford Mustang rival, the Camaro, last year.
