Chevy Malibu Hybrid won't return for 2020 model year
The Malibu Hybrid shared electrified running gear with the now-dead Chevy Volt.
Chevrolet will pull the plug on the Malibu Hybrid for the 2020 model year. The end of the hybrid sedan leaves Chevy without any hybrid models, while the Chevy Bolt EV carries the electric-car torch for the brand.
Green Car Reports reported on the Chevy Malibu Hybrid's death on Monday and confirmed the end of production with a Chevy representative. General Motors' bread-and-butter division has slowly moved away from hybrid models as the automaker instead touts an electric future.
GM President Mark Reuss has previously defended the decision to move away from hybrids and plug-in hybrids, noting it doesn't make sense to pack features (engines) that drivers may not ever use. The comment referred specifically to a Volt successor, which was a plug-in hybrid.
Under the Malibu Hybrid's skin.
The Malibu Hybrid also shared components with the aforementioned Volt plug-in. With a 1.8-liter inline-4 engine and a 1.5 kilowatt-hour battery, the hybrid sedan could run on solely electricity up to 55 mph. The sedan was a formidable rival to other hybrid sedans on the market, too. The EPA estimated the Malibu Hybrid would return 46 miles per gallon combined.
GM has previously said it has 20 new electric cars coming by 2023 and the automaker officially announced another new Chevy electric car will be assembled at the Orion production plant in Michigan. It's likely this car will be similar to the Bolt EV, but perhaps feature more crossover-like proportions. Cadillac will launch its first electric vehicle next decade and the automaker confirmed it has a purely electric pickup truck in the pipeline.
