PREMiERdrum Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 DETROIT (Reuters) -- The Chevrolet Malibu has been a symbol of General Motors’ competitive woes for nearly 20 years because of designs that critics often lambasted as boring. Now, the No. 1 U.S. automaker is telling suppliers a redesigned version of the midsize sedan will deliver a long-awaited sales jolt. GM executives have told suppliers to prepare for sales in North America of 250,000 new Malibus a year, 25 percent above last year’s levels, and have the ability to go as high as 300,000 cars a year, according to three supplier sources familiar with the plans. So they're planning an astronomical jump in volume AND in average transaction price? What could go wrong? http://www.autonews.com/article/20150326/OEM04/150329886/new-chevy-malibu-tasked-with-meeting-gms-aggressive-sales-goals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Do they even sell half that many currently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 As Aerosmith would say "Dream On"....... I can't fathom any sound business justification for a 25% jump no matter how good the new model is, unless they're planning on firesale pricing and fleet dumping, neither of which will help ATPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Oh, if only GM could replace GM, they would get a sizable jump in sales and revenue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHV 16V Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 What do you wanna bet they'll do what they do with the Impala now and combine Malibu Classic and the new models' sales numbers and not break them down for the public? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 And this isn't just grandstanding in the press to build buzz about the new 'Bu... this is trying to get suppliers to ramp up for a sales target that is outrageously optimistic. That's even more reckless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fgts Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I wouldn't wanna bet too much against the next Malibu. Examples: as the 08-12' was a hit i'm sure they took their time with this, the Malibu can be made in 2 factories if need be, the Chrysler 200 went from 0 to top 10 best selling sedans within one redesign same with Sonata without GMs dealer network . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I wouldn't wanna bet too much against the next Malibu. Examples: as the 08-12' was a hit i'm sure they took their time with this, the Malibu can be made in 2 factories if need be, the Chrysler 200 went from 0 to top 10 best selling sedans within one redesign same with Sonata without GMs dealer network . You're expecting something decent to come out of the design studio though.... That's what was key in jump the models you listed. Obviously, I'll reserve judgment until we see the final product, but I don't have high hopes for a vehicle that we've seen has the same 2 slot (with Chevy logo/bar in the middle) grille they said they were going away from 3 years ago and that has "Corvette-style" taillights (the current "Canaro-style" taillights look terrible). But we'll see. Either way, it sounds like the same business as usual, pie in the sky, overly optimistic sales projections out of GM. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I wouldn't wanna bet too much against the next Malibu. Examples: as the 08-12' was a hit i'm sure they took their time with this, the Malibu can be made in 2 factories if need be, the Chrysler 200 went from 0 to top 10 best selling sedans within one redesign same with Sonata without GMs dealer network . The one thing that Fiat Chrysler has "going" for it is the lack product around it to take sales away from it...no compact sedan under it nor a mid-sized CUV. The Sonata was always around the the top 10-15 of sales previous to its redesign and the new refresh actually took a step back innthe looks dept. The 'bui doesnt have any of this going for it...it took the Fusion nearly six years get into the top four of sales with incremental improvements during that time and no artificial limiting of product because of Buick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 The one thing that Fiat Chrysler has "going" for it is the lack product around it to take sales away from it...no compact sedan under it nor a mid-sized CUV. The Sonata was always around the the top 10-15 of sales previous to its redesign and the new refresh actually took a step back innthe looks dept. The 'bui doesnt have any of this going for it...it took the Fusion nearly six years get into the top four of sales with incremental improvements during that time and no artificial limiting of product because of Buick There was artificial limiting until Mercury got axed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 There was artificial limiting until Mercury got axed Eh, I don't really think there was much limiting because of Mercury, at least features wise. There was nothing different options-wise between the two, only different front and rear clips, with minor changes inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnV Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Oh, if only GM could replace GM. Nonsensical, yet perfect for a t-shirt.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fgts Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 The one thing that Fiat Chrysler has "going" for it is the lack product around it to take sales away from it...no compact sedan under it nor a mid-sized CUV. The Dart and Journey are decent selling and sold half times in the same showrooms, btw where were the 200 buyers before the redesign?, Avenger wasn't pulling in half of the 200 numbers . The Sonata was always around the the top 10-15 of sales previous to its redesign and the new refresh actually took a step back innthe looks dept. Shoulda specify the 10-14' models made the difference, before that it was a forgotten Korean product. The 'bui doesnt have any of this going for it...it took the Fusion nearly six years get into the top four of sales with incremental improvements during that time and no artificial limiting of product because of Buick We don't know what the new Malibu have in store (other than it's bigger and a Voltec model) . The Malibu since the 90's made several appearances in the lower top 10 sales, I don't know what's different now and Buick?, really?, the Regal moves 1500-2500 cars a month vs the Malibu 15-18000 a month. I hardly car that limiting otherwise include the Impala and Lacrosse to the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Doesn't matter how good the new Malibu is, it ain't going to see a 25% increase without fleet dumping or huge incentives. Mercury didn't limit Fusion sales - you have to build up to those volumes with multiple iterations of repeat buyers to go along with the new ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 The Dart and Journey are decent selling and sold half times in the same showrooms, btw where were the 200 buyers before the redesign?, Avenger wasn't pulling in half of the 200 numbers . Shoulda specify the 10-14' models made the difference, before that it was a forgotten Korean product. We don't know what the new Malibu have in store (other than it's bigger and a Voltec model) . The Malibu since the 90's made several appearances in the lower top 10 sales, I don't know what's different now and Buick?, really?, the Regal moves 1500-2500 cars a month vs the Malibu 15-18000 a month. I hardly car that limiting otherwise include the Impala and Lacrosse to the mix. The Journey is a fleet/rental queen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 The Dart and Journey are decent selling and sold half times in the same showrooms, btw where were the 200 buyers before the redesign?, Avenger wasn't pulling in half of the 200 numbers . The Dart sells horribly vs other compact cars like the Focus and even Cruz. The point your missing about the Malbui is that they arent selling more profitable 35k ones because that would step on the toes of Buick. The Journey is a fleet/rental queen. the Jury AFAIK is still out that isn't happening to the 200 also. anadotically it doesnt seem to be the case though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Meanwhile at GM... "Wait... now it looks like we'll sell 400,000 a year! http://theproegers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/122367-600x400-Crack_pipe.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-S Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) Whether it is a 25 percent increase or a 10 percent increase or whatever it turns out to be, to me a bigger question is whether the new Malibu will be good enough to cause a drop in the sale of the Ford Fusion and other competitors. The Malibu will once again be the new kid on the mid-size block with all their competitors relying on cars that are a 2-3 generational years older (except for the Hyundai Sonata which is new in 2015 and the Camry revised in 2015). If the Malibu has more features and interior room and is styled nicely, they will probably bring in more buyers than they had previously and that will be at the expense of their competitors. So while GM tells their suppliers what to plan for, I will be more interested in seeing what happens in total across the mid-size market once the Malibu goes on sale. My choice for my 2014 Fusion could easily have been a Malibu if it were not for the lack of room in back seat of the Malibu and their pricing. And speaking of pricing I really don't understand Ford's pricing strategy on Fusions either because it seems like they have constant rebates on their cars. If that is built into their margins, then good for them. But if it's not then does that mean they can't move cars unless they have these discounts? Edited March 29, 2015 by Dave-S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 This next Malibu will be a much better product and should fnally achieve increased sales and transaction prices, what that ultimately means of Impala sales is anyone's guess. The important point here is that GM gives its customers what they are asking for, do that and all will be well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerdude20 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 They only sell 200k malibus in all of North America? Jeez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banker55 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 This next Malibu will be a much better product and should fnally achieve increased sales and transaction prices, what that ultimately means of Impala sales is anyone's guess. The important point here is that GM gives its customers what they are asking for, do that and all will be well. I agree the new Malibu will be a better car. Looking at the numbers, the overall market was up 6% and midsize sedans was up 1%. Malibu sales were down 6%. This segment will be close to flat for 2015, my guess. The top 5 cars make up 70%. The big five sales were up 4 to 6 percent. Mazda, Subaru and Kia sales were up. The new Chrysler sales are up for the past 4 or 5 months. New Optima is coming. That leaves Malibu and Passat(down 11 or 12 percent). The new Malibu has to compete with the old Malibu in the same sales space. The only way they can succeed to plan is to take sales from the other players. I think the two Chevys' together may see increased sales to a point,but this is a crowded space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 My choice for my 2014 Fusion could easily have been a Malibu if it were not for the lack of room in back seat of the Malibu and their pricing. And speaking of pricing I really don't understand Ford's pricing strategy on Fusions either because it seems like they have constant rebates on their cars. If that is built into their margins, then good for them. But if it's not then does that mean they can't move cars unless they have these discounts? The first sentence kind of reads like, "The dinner would've been really good, except the meat was undercooked and there was a big ol' hair in the mashed potatoes."----in short, it really wasn't that good. Every vehicle in the entry-level segment has a rebate or incentive on it at some point in time or another. The Fusion's ATPs are among the highest in the segment these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 (edited) Regardless of buyer response, you can bet that GM will gear up to build 300,000/year of new Malibu and that's the real worry for me, a rampant GM building excess product and dumping on markets just to keep its own factory order books full and using incentives to force down competitor pricing. Edited March 30, 2015 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 GM is talking as if the '16 Malibu hybrid is the "first mid size hybrid ever". Fusion has had a hybrid model for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 GM is talking as if the '16 Malibu hybrid is the "first mid size hybrid ever". Fusion has had a hybrid model for years. That's because they live in their own little world where they are always right and everyone else is wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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