General Motors Co. will begin building its next-generation Chevrolet Malibu about four months ahead of schedule, the latest in the company's efforts to accelerate the delivery of new cars and trucks to dealer showrooms.
GM spokesman Dave Darovitz said Monday the automaker has advanced its timetable for the midsize Malibu to early 2012 — several months earlier than planned. The 2013 model Malibu will go on sale shortly after, he added, but declined to pinpoint a date.
According to a Jan. 27 internal GM report, the new Malibu will start production in January 2012, as opposed to May. Some factory jobs may be added; GM is still assessing how many and where, Darovitz said.
The Detroit automaker will make the car at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas, where it makes the current Malibu, and at the Detroit Hamtramck factory, where GM makes the Chevy Volt.
GM Chief Executive Officer Daniel Akerson advocated the Malibu's early arrival. The new version will be the company's first globally sold midsize car.
"Mr. Akerson requested we study the program to see if we could move quicker," Darovitz said.
The automaker was forced to delay spending on a number of new car and truck programs during its 2009 bankruptcy, to save on costs.
Akerson, who became CEO in September, has pressed company officials to pick up the pace.
"Since Mr. Akerson came aboard, he's challenging us to move faster and this is the latest example," Darovitz said.
GM took advantage of greater manufacturing flexibility at its factories and efficiencies built into its global platform to accelerate the car's production schedule, he added.
The Malibu is a real workhorse vehicle for GM, ranking among its top-selling vehicles for 2010.
The car has won many industry awards, helping GM gain a leg up in the highly competitive midsize segment. GM sold 198,770 Malibus last year, according to Autodata Corp.
"GM is really in a position where it had to pull up the production to compete," Sullivan said. "This gets the Malibu out in advance" of its Japanese competitors, he added.
GM will debut the 2013 Malibu Monday at the Shanghai auto show, and webcast the car's unveiling on Chevrolet's Facebook page.
Chevrolet also will show the car at the New York International Auto Show next week.
Detroit News. April 12, 2011.
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