In a significant shift towards electric vehicles (EVs), General Motors (NYSE:GM) has announced plans to cease production of its gasoline-powered Chevrolet Malibu later this year.

What Happened: GM intends to halt the production of its Chevrolet Malibu car in November, Reuters reported on Thursday. The Detroit-based automaker is channeling a $390 million investment into its Kansas assembly plant to manufacture the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EVs. The production of the previous generation Bolt was stopped in December.

The company has been progressively shifting its focus from cars to the production of more crossover and sport utility vehicles. The Malibu is the last Chevrolet car offered in the U.S., apart from the Corvette. The production of the Chevrolet Camaro also ended last year.

GM also declared a temporary halt in the production of the Cadillac XT4 after January 2025 in Kansas, resulting in layoffs of production employees until production resumes later in 2025 for both the Bolt EV and XT4 on the same assembly line.

Despite selling over 10 million Malibus worldwide since 1964, GM saw a 12.5% drop in the sales of the Malibu in the first quarter of this year. However, sales were up 13% to 130,000 in 2023.

Why It Matters: In its first quarter of 2024 results, GM reported a 7.6% year-over-year sales growth to $43.01 billion, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $41.88 billion. The company's market share reached 8.1% for the quarter, a decrease from 8.7% a year ago.

Following a first-quarter beat, GM raised its outlook for FY24, projecting adjusted earnings per share of $9.00 – $10.00, higher than the prior view of $8.50 – $9.50. The company is focusing heavily on profitability, with expenses continuing to be a big priority.

However, GM dealers have expressed concerns over the automaker's exclusive focus on fully electric cars, urging the company to introduce hybrid models. They fear losing customers who are not yet ready to embrace fully electric vehicles. Dealers emphasized the growing demand for a middle ground between traditional gas-powered cars and electric vehicles (EVs).

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