The Chevrolet Malibu is virtually reborn for 2026: Will it dominate the midsize sedan category?

A brand new Chevrolet Malibu is a long-overdue product. The current ninth generation has been around since 2015, so it's an old car by today's standards. But is the bowtie brand preparing a new one?

That would be a no. In fact, General Motors announced earlier this year that it will stop assembling the current Chevrolet Malibu this fall. The last one will roll off the production line at the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City on November 4. After that, the facility will be retooled for future cars, like the Bolt. Electric vehiclewhich will join the also factory-produced Cadillac XT4.

Chevy's Malibu originally came out in 1964 as a subseries of the Chevelle, and 14 years later, it became a standalone product. As mentioned above, it is currently in its ninth generation. The lineup starts with the $26,995 LS, followed by the RS, 1LT, and 2LT, which have MSRPs of $27,995, $29,295, and $32,695, respectively. All come with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 163 horsepower (165 ps/122 kW) and 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) of torque, connected to a Continuously variable transmission AND After you.

So, like it or not, the current Chevrolet Malibu will cease production in just over two months, and the moniker will disappear for now. The automaker has no plans to launch another midsize sedan anytime soon, and given the boom in crossovers, we wouldn’t be surprised if Chevy decided to revive the name and use it on a high-rider model. Of course, this is purely speculation, and you should take it with a grain of salt.

Mind you, not everyone is on board with GM’s decision to kill the Chevy Malibu, including us, but since there’s nothing we can do about it, we’re bringing you a new set of renderings of a hypothetical tenth generation. This CGI-infused model comes courtesy of Q Cars on YouTube, and it’s a modern-looking proposition that would undoubtedly find its place in the midsize sedan segment.

The pixel manipulator imagined it as an evolution of the outgoing one. The car has a smaller grille that protrudes less into the bumper, slightly larger headlights with new graphics, reinterpreted fog lights and a modified greenhouse. The lines on the doors are similar and the taillights are connected to each other by a thin strip. The diffuser seems to be an evolution of the current one and the bumper and the trunk lid are completely new. The wheels also seem to have been carried over and the vehicle sports a white finish and several black and chrome details.

We wouldn't complain at all if GM decided to take a similar approach for a future Chevrolet Malibu, but as midsize sedans are dying out in the Western world and crossovers are gradually replacing them, that's not going to happen. Will you miss this model once it's gone?