Yahoo Autos New Chevy Malibu Puts New GM To Its Toughest Test
The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu was built to compete. But can it?
The midsize car segment has two long-reigning champions: The Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. To provide some perspective, the Camry has sold 392,000 units this year, while Toyota’s entire luxury Lexus division has sold 303,000 vehicles. Honda has sold 357,000 Accords through November.
The Malibu hit 183,000 sales for the year through November, enough to be the second-best selling car in GM’s lineup. But it’s only sixth best among midsize sedans; given that performance, the old jingle “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and…” could end with “Nissan Altima” or “Hyundai Sonata.”
Despite those numbers, General Motors chief executive Mary Barra says this Malibu will be different because of the approach designers and engineers took.
“I can’t wait to see how it does,” Barra said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Autos. “We have worked really hard to understand to make sure we understand the midsize customer.”
Related: Why Barra Thinks A Chinese-Made Buick Will Work In America
Addressing deficiencies in previous generation vehicles, such as the cramped second row, and poor fuel economy are some of the boxes Chevrolet must check, but Barra says the company has gone even farther. The new Malibu, which has a longer wheelbase to fix that second row problem, also comes with a more passionate exterior and an interior filled with technologies customers want, Barra said.
“What are (customers) looking for?” she asked. “The space requirements, the fuel efficiency, the overall value, the right technology, not just throwing technology on for technology’s sake, but what is the technology that that customer segment is truly going to value.”
