Chevy Malibu Poaching Sales From The Japanese
For every cloud there's a silver lining, or so goes the expression. Well, we learned earlier that GM managed to lose itself $3.25 billion in the first three months of the year. Oops. One upside: they're used to it. The other: the born-again Chevrolet Malibu seems to be doing what no domestic sedan has been able to do since Robocop's Taurus. Yes, the new 'Bu's pilfer sales from the Japanese marques. J.D. Power reports [via the lads at Motor Authority] that (nearly) 20 percent of the cars traded-in for new Malibus are foreign nameplates. That's up from 12.5 percent. And the Bu buyers weren't just trading in their Kias and Hyundais, either. Toyondissans accounted for 9.7 percent of the cars used as partial down payments for the Americanized Opel. [NB: What they didn't say is that almost 60 percent of the trades were GM products.] End of the beginning? Beginning of the end? Regardless, more like the Malibu seems to be the only path worth taking.
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This metric means nothing without context. What was the %age of foreign trade-ins on the old Malibu? What counts as foreign? Is an Aveo-upgrader trading in a foreign car, even if both are Chevies? What is the %age of domestics traded in on the competitor's model?
The car looks quietly upscale and attractive. Even inside. The exterior resembles the VW Phaeton, but somehow the Chevy looks better than the 70,000 VW. Guess what? Offer this styling for a price in the 20s, and people buy the car.
The Malibu came out way better than expected at a time when Camrys and Accords were down on their game. They have a competitive car! Good on 'em.