According to reports in the Detroit News and Leftlane News, Chevrolet is experiencing a problem with its new Malibu sedan that all automakers covet. Turns out that production volume is far below the number of sales the hot model is racking up at dealerships.
Whenever you go to a dealer, the common line from the salesman is, “Wow, this sure is a hot selling model!” This is even when you look across the lot and spy 150 copies of said vehicle covered in dust. Fortunately for General Motors, most of its dealerships have at most 2 days worth of Malibu inventory.
This particular quagmire brings to mind the previously hot selling Chrysler 300C. At the start of its life, there was a huge shortage of the hugely desirable HEMI-powered model. As production ramped up, Chrysler ended up piling up fully optioned models as the market progressed to wanting more of the bargain basement models. Hence the glut of Chrysler 300 models currently on dealer lots.
So will Chevrolet make the same mistake as Chrysler? A harbinger of good news for GM is the fact that the company only planned to sell about 500 Malibus in the month of November and ended up selling over 8,000! That is the same number it sold last the same month last year, and is amazing for a vehicle in its first month on sale.
To keep up with demand, GM has started production of more Malibus at its Lake Orion, Michigan plant. That is good news for the United Auto Workers Union, which after okaying a number of plant closures and layoffs, is hoping for plenty of work at its many other plants and parts manufacturing facilities.
But will Malibu buyers, faced with waiting lists and the possibility of having fewer color and option choices, wait? There is of course a plethora of options in that class of car, from the fresh out-of-the-box 2008 Accord to the ever-present Toyota Camry.
One can only hope that GM sees fit to manufacture a large portion of its initial models as the high-zoot, fully optioned versions and then starts to build up a stock of value models. It has been shown time and time again that the first months of sales stack more highly to high end models of hot sellers. For instance, the Hemi 300C was what everyone wanted when that vehicle came to market. Now the mid level V6 300s sell a whole lot better.
It is all about the mix of vehicles that are brought to market at the right time. It can mean the difference between having an okay seller and a hot seller. In the beginning of a vehicles life, a lot of people will judge it on the ones they see driving around on the street. And let’s face it, the Malibu looks a lot sweeter in LTZ trim with the two tone leather interior than the plane-jane rental car grey of the base version.
It is heartening to see, though, in this time of shrinking GM market share and an impending automotive sales recession that Chevy has managed to make a sedan that Americans actually want to buy. Finally, a Malibu that isn’t just your final option at the Alamo rental counter.