Malibu production numbers

[Northstar]

Does anyone have Malibu production numbers? I know Autonews has them, but I'm no longer a subscriber. I'd like to know because my dealer can't seem to keep more than 2 in stock at a time. They delivered 3 today and have another one on Friday, and therefore only have two left on the lot. I've never seen more than 3 on the lot at once, and every time I see that they get an LTZ in, I go the next day to see it and it's sold...

I say:

1) Convert Fairfax only to Malibu for a while. My Saturn dealer has 20 Auras. That should last them at least a few months.

2) Convert Orion to 70% Malibu production. The G6 doesn't sell very well anyways, and it does so with huge incentives.

It's quite obvious that the Malibu is ready to set the sales charts on fire. For some reason, it seems GM still wants to limit production on a car that is supposed to sell in huge numbers. It did 12k last month IIRC, which is good but it could be doing 20K+, I think, at least based on sales around here and the huge lack of supply. Anyone else have similar observations?

[silverss/sc]

Same deal here , except out of 5 local chevy dealers I havent seen a new Malibu on the lot in 2 months . Naquin's got a batch of 10 cars in and they were gone witin 2 weeks . Lots are bare ever since .

[Northstar]

I saw 4 Malibus in a span on ~10 minutes today. They're popping up everywhere!

Anyone have those production numbers?

[biff]

I've seen 2 LTZ's in my town and I bought one of them. Haven't seen more than 2 or 3 in a dealer lot either. Where are they all going?

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Maybe they're taking the same approach that they had with the Enclave.

[Northstar]

Maybe they're taking the same approach that they had with the Enclave.

But the difference is the market for the Malibu is absolutely HUGE. The mid-size car market has to be at least 1.75 million or so (Camry + Accord + Altima is probably 1 million alone) and then you add the Impala, Malibu, Fusion, etc etc... there's no sense in limiting Malibu production unless it is not selling well, but it is FLYING off the lots. Limiting production below demand is DUMB. Production should equal demand at least, and it's not a bad idea to have some extras on the lots, either. Clearly the Malibu could be doing 20k/month, yet last month it did 12k. My dealer sold 3 of their 5 in one day and 4 of 5 this week. The most they have ever been able to keep on the lot at once is 5 or 6, and that lasts for maybe 2 days. My dealer is not that high volume either. From when I worked there, we were lucky to have 1 new car delivery per day. 2 was a very good day and three was almost unheard of, but the Malibu by itself had 3 in a day and 4 in a week this week!

[IfICouldWouldYou?]

Turning the Malibu into a production whore is only inviting serious discounting. GM has gone on record as saying they want to protect resale value, too. If every dealer has 50 of these things, then they will just whore them out, and that benefits no one.

Stay the course, GM. Let the Sonata and Fusion become the new rental queens!

[Northstar]

Turning the Malibu into a production whore is only inviting serious discounting. GM has gone on record as saying they want to protect resale value, too. If every dealer has 50 of these things, then they will just whore them out, and that benefits no one.

Stay the course, GM. Let the Sonata and Fusion become the new rental queens!

There is a difference between 50 on the lot and 2 when you're selling 4 in a week when you only have 5. What's wrong with having 10 on the lot, even if you still sell only 4 in a week? At least the selection is better and you have the potential to sell more. 12k/month is probably 1/15th of the midsize car market. The Malibu is a much better car than that. It should own 2.5/15th of the midsize car market.

[enzl]

50k built this year so far, as of last week's AN.

39 days of inventory as of 3/1/08.

That's good.

Edited March 22, 2008 by enzl

[CARBIZ]

There is a difference between 50 on the lot and 2 when you're selling 4 in a week when you only have 5. What's wrong with having 10 on the lot, even if you still sell only 4 in a week? At least the selection is better and you have the potential to sell more. 12k/month is probably 1/15th of the midsize car market. The Malibu is a much better car than that. It should own 2.5/15th of the midsize car market.

Here's a hint: get used to it. One of the first victims of 'choice' is selection. When GM dealers were making a ton of money, they would carry 40 or 50 of everything. Now that the consumer has the 'choice' of shopping Subaru, Mistubishi, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, VW, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Chrysler, Mazda, Jaguar - did I miss any? Well, you get the point. Every dealer will inevitably carry less. I've seen dealers that used to carry an inventory of 4-500 vehicles now only carry 120 or so. Spread across a dozen or models, that can get very, very thin. It costs a lot of money to inventory a $20k vehicle, and since you Americans love to pay 'invoice,' who do you think is going to pay the carrying charges? Not GM, that is for sure.

[Northstar]

50k built this year so far, as of last week's AN.

39 days of inventory as of 3/1/08.

That's good.

How many were built last week? I assume more than the average for the year (slightly less than 5k/week). 5k/week is only 250k/year or so, which is good but not great.

Here's a hint: get used to it. One of the first victims of 'choice' is selection. When GM dealers were making a ton of money, they would carry 40 or 50 of everything. Now that the consumer has the 'choice' of shopping Subaru, Mistubishi, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, VW, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Chrysler, Mazda, Jaguar - did I miss any? Well, you get the point. Every dealer will inevitably carry less. I've seen dealers that used to carry an inventory of 4-500 vehicles now only carry 120 or so. Spread across a dozen or models, that can get very, very thin. It costs a lot of money to inventory a $20k vehicle, and since you Americans love to pay 'invoice,' who do you think is going to pay the carrying charges? Not GM, that is for sure.

Nothing in your post explains why there shouldn't be more Malibus on the lots when they're selling like hotcakes. GM still sells a large number of vehicles. Note that while there are more brands, the market is a whole hell of a lot bigger than it used to be in terms of number of sales, too.

According to Edmunds, LTZ Malibu buyers are paying about $1k over invoice, $500 below sticker. A 1LT with a few options with MSRP $22840 is selling for $22319, with an invoice of $21440. Seems like the Malibu is selling well above invoice to me.

[caddycruiser]

Our 2LT 4-cyl is still essentially the only one we "see" around home, since buying it in January. And still gets questions, stares, etc.

As said, it isn't OVERLY easy to just walk on a typical lot and pick out one from their 10 (most are now getting to the average of 5 at one time, at least for a couple of hours), but that isn't a bad thing, necessarily. Do Honda and Toyota dealers have lots FULL of every Accord & Camry combo available? Yes. Do they discount them all nicely? Yes. But resale has already been established, and no matter what, it seems to stay.

The Malibu, based on all the old ones, has had next to no resale and been pumped out in its gloriously bland and subpar form in WAY too high of numbers. So now, keeping it at the levels that you can order one and get it in the usual time, sometimes find exactly the right one on the lot, or be able to do a dealer search/swap/etc. in a few days (like we did), it isn't a bad thing.

It does turn some people off, yes, and they'll go elsewhere because lots don't have 20-30 just sitting there waiting for them to pick one out of the catalog and go. BUT, it also adds to the emotional pull of the car, that it's a practical and affordable sedan that happens to be a looker and drive wonderfully, but also not as garden variety as others. Helps keep the desire up, and also values.

So it's all just about balance. Right now, even with a few people turned off by not being able to get one in 5 minutes, big deal. For everyone else, it adds to the desirability and the car is so good, they're fine with a little wait. But it's also a volume product, and still, given some more time, dealers WILL have more of them and supply will even out after the rush has calmed, all hopefully just to the right levels.

I know a salesguy at a large Chevy dealer in the Philly area (they tend to have the most Malibus at any one time and on the way than ANYONE nearby), and they can move a few a day. Interestingly, of the combos, he said they can never have enough 1LT's (no shock...just like the typical Accord LX or Camry LE, and RIGHT at the $20-22k sweet spot), and Black Granite is the color they have the most interest in. LTZ's are still seen as hot commodities, but really, most dealers have at least 1 or 2 and they aren't the first thing to sell. Our dealer, for instance, traded the Black/Brick LTZ they had just sitting around for our 2LT, and now they have another identical LTZ (the only one they've had for a while) that's been sitting yet again.

Edited March 23, 2008 by caddycruiser

[Northstar]

That's interesting that the LTZs don't sell as well in Pittsburgh. Here, they stay on the lot for 2 days at most, it seems.

Here is my problem with Malibu supply (at least around here). Local Chevy dealer: 3 Malibus. Local Honda dealer: 31 Accords. Local Toyota dealer: 48 Camrys. Local Saturn dealer: 17 Auras. There should be around 15-20 Malibus, I feel. 2 a day gives a 10 day supply. Even if the pace is only 1 a day that's still only 15-20 days supply.

[Toyota.vs.GM]

That's interesting that the LTZs don't sell as well in Pittsburgh. Here, they stay on the lot for 2 days at most, it seems.

Here is my problem with Malibu supply (at least around here). Local Chevy dealer: 3 Malibus. Local Honda dealer: 31 Accords. Local Toyota dealer: 48 Camrys. Local Saturn dealer: 17 Auras. There should be around 15-20 Malibus, I feel. 2 a day gives a 10 day supply. Even if the pace is only 1 a day that's still only 15-20 days supply.

I got a feeling that this will continue until Epsilon II,i heard that FairFax and Orion both have plans to get larger.

[gm4life]

Caddycruiser got any large photos of your mom's new 2LT I would love to drool over it. But yes I have seen a few in my area but we have 2 huge Chevrolet dealers within 10 miles of each other so go figure. Each of them have about a dozen new 'Bu's but you still see more ugly Camry's. We also have a large asswhole Toyo dealer in town.

[CARBIZ]

How many were built last week? I assume more than the average for the year (slightly less than 5k/week). 5k/week is only 250k/year or so, which is good but not great.

Nothing in your post explains why there shouldn't be more Malibus on the lots when they're selling like hotcakes. GM still sells a large number of vehicles. Note that while there are more brands, the market is a whole hell of a lot bigger than it used to be in terms of number of sales, too.

According to Edmunds, LTZ Malibu buyers are paying about $1k over invoice, $500 below sticker. A 1LT with a few options with MSRP $22840 is selling for $22319, with an invoice of $21440. Seems like the Malibu is selling well above invoice to me.

And you think $1,000 profit on a $22k vehicle is acceptable, do you? That's not even 5%. Ever see a 50% off sale at Sears or your favorite furniture store? An entire 'for profit' cottage industry has sprung up (mostly in the U.S) to tell the consumer what they should pay for a vehicle, yet the average family will blow more in a month on groceries (where the margins are upwards of 100%) than what they were 'ripped off' for their vehicle purchase.

I dunno, but if I was going to spend $5 million, it would not be to open a dealership where I would stand to NET maybe $300 on a $22k vehicle (after you pay the carrying charges, clean up, lot damage, Purolator, sales commission and all the other incidentals that go into the sales process)

If you want selection, free coffees, loaner vehicles, weekend test drives and all the other frills, then you gotta pay for it. Otherwise, you get left with Wal-Mart.

[enzl]

How many were built last week? I assume more than the average for the year (slightly less than 5k/week). 5k/week is only 250k/year or so, which is good but not great.

IIRC, weekly was 6k...which may or may not be affected by other GM issues...

[gm4life]

CARBIZ dealers make the money on SERVICE. Not Chevrolet Malibu's, Impala's, Trailblazers, now on a Corvette or XLR sure but on an Impala LS that they are selling new for 17K you think they make alot of money. The money comes in when you service it there. All dealers say buy here and service it at your local dealership trust me they prefer you come there so they can make extra money on you. And a 500 dollar profit around my area is pretty good.

[daves87rs]

I've seen 7-14 on a lot in my area.....better, I guess...

[Oracle of Delphi]

Saw the new Malibu on the Autobahn last week, was in a Navy Blue color, looked quite nice.

[daves87rs]

Saw the new Malibu on the Autobahn last week, was in a Navy Blue color, looked quite nice.

That blue is a nice color...

[The O.C.]

Saw the new Malibu on the Autobahn last week, was in a Navy Blue color, looked quite nice.

Hmmmmm.....what was a Malibu doing over in Europe?

[enzl]

Hmmmmm.....what was a Malibu doing over in Europe?

Could export to EU be possible?

It would certainly make sense given exchange rates. Given what's being pawned off as Chevy's in Europe, it would be a huge step up.

[VenSeattle]

Hmmmmm.....what was a Malibu doing over in Europe?

Don't forget, the Chevrolet Malibu was recently launched in China as well.

[zhawk]

Hmmmmm.....what was a Malibu doing over in Europe?

It could have also been a GI's car. Remember, AAFES (the Army Air Force Exchange Service) does sell new cars over there in Europe.

They give some pretty good deals.

[The O.C.]

It could have also been a GI's car. Remember, AAFES (the Army Air Force Exchange Service) does sell new cars over there in Europe.

They give some pretty good deals.

All good explanations.....it just seems funny he's seen a Malibu on the autobahn.....and I have STILL to see only a handful of them (rentals INCLUDED) on the roads around here.

(One of the retail units, however, was a candy-apple-red LT with a young chick driving it......looked really good.....just saw the other day.)

[balthazar]

Slowly seeing more & more Malibus here, but not nearly as many as the accordian.

Have to say one thing tho, the 'bu's 'U.S.'-sized rear plate cubby is so tremendously refreshing to see, and the chrome trim sets it off nicely. Car looks very good.

[OshKoshBerJosh]

I went to the NY auto show and sat in the new Accord and Malibu in that exact order. I made sure to sit in them back to back, so I could compare. The Malibu's dash blows the Accord's dash out of the water. The materials are classier and softer to the touch. The pseudo ashtray door opens and shuts with a solid feeling, as does the top storage bin. The doors, however, are just slightly below the Accord's doors in quality. The armrests are too hard and a nicer panel should have been placed directly below the two-tone strip that leads into the dash. But overall, the Malibu far outclasses the Accord in interior trim.

[regfootball]

And you think $1,000 profit on a $22k vehicle is acceptable, do you? That's not even 5%. Ever see a 50% off sale at Sears or your favorite furniture store? An entire 'for profit' cottage industry has sprung up (mostly in the U.S) to tell the consumer what they should pay for a vehicle, yet the average family will blow more in a month on groceries (where the margins are upwards of 100%) than what they were 'ripped off' for their vehicle purchase.

I dunno, but if I was going to spend $5 million, it would not be to open a dealership where I would stand to NET maybe $300 on a $22k vehicle (after you pay the carrying charges, clean up, lot damage, Purolator, sales commission and all the other incidentals that go into the sales process)

If you want selection, free coffees, loaner vehicles, weekend test drives and all the other frills, then you gotta pay for it. Otherwise, you get left with Wal-Mart.

c'mon BIZ, we know about the volume bonuses and holdbacks....the dealer gets more money in the pocket than just sell price over invoice. it just doesn't show up at the time of sale. dealers sell cars at '300 above invoice' so they can get the other bonuses later.....or to be able to have the ability to order and sell other higher profit vehicles that are hot.

by the way, i have seen many new Auras crop up lately. must be the 4 cylinder and the driftover in interest from the BU. 3 new auras in the work parking lot alone.

re: accord vs. malibu.....the accord really blew chunks on the interior and exterior, but the packaging is darn near perfect for such a light car. the space compared to the epsilons alone is my reason to look accord first before any accord. only the fusion and galant compare tit for tat on space with the new accord.

Edited March 29, 2008 by regfootball

[vonVeezelsnider]

I've seen like twelve, of which only one was a rental.

[Newbiewar]

It could have also been a GI's car. Remember, AAFES (the Army Air Force Exchange Service) does sell new cars over there in Europe.

They give some pretty good deals.

correct me if im wrong but aafes doesnt sell gm products, mostly jeep ford and harley davidson. but my experiance limits me to ft bliss, and kuwait.

[carman21]

One could always buy a Malibu in the States and ship it to Europe.

I counted 26 Malibus at the Mall, 14 with temp new car plates. Just to make sure they were all different, I wrote down their plate #s. And I live in NJ, a tradition bastion of import buyers.

The Malibu clearly is the best selling American Car in many years.

[The O.C.]

One could always buy a Malibu in the States and ship it to Europe.

I counted 26 Malibus at the Mall, 14 with temp new car plates. Just to make sure they were all different, I wrote down their plate #s. And I live in NJ, a tradition bastion of import buyers.

The Malibu clearly is the best selling American Car in many years.

I'm lucky to see one......period.....

[biff]

I'm starting to see more and more of them....I'm not the only one anymore.

[ToniCipriani]

I saw a horde of them lately. A really nice Black LTZ went by me and my jaw dropped.

[gm4life]

I have been seeing lots of 1LT's and 2LT's. There is a navy 1LT at my sons highschools lot driven by a lil' spanish teacher. It is navy/ebony with chrome wheel covers. A 2007 Camry LE sits a few spots down everytime my son sees people walking by them he says what a good looking car the Chevy is... At least thats what he tells me. **I am sure he does he loves GM as much as I do!**

[turbo200]

the last gen malibu was always in incredibly limited supplies around here, save for a year or so when GM pumped them into retails. now, the last gen is non-existant again. i have seen a steady flow of retail malibus and rental malibus, overall more of the former than the latter, but just barely. however, that is a hugely refreshing change, as it is a rare thing to have a GM car presence in any form in this area.

another sign of change is the dealer inventory of course. mine has always had a massive sea of trucks and barely any cobalts or impalas, in fact they've sometimes had as many corvettes as impalas. well the malibu is being well stocked, at around 15 units, more than 5 or so impalas and 10 balts and 6 hhrs. heck i never ever saw a monte carlo there even when they were in production. contrast this with literally hundreds of GMT 900 truck and SUVs, as well as on the GMC side, and you can see where the profit lies in SoCal

Edited April 22, 2008 by turbo200