General Motors has ended production of the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, reports The Associated Press, citing slow sales and a backlog of inventory.
     Chevy began selling the hybrid in the 2008 model year. And even in a stable economy, the car made little financial sense for buyers because it cost around $4,000 more than the standard gas-engine Malibu while only getting four miles a gallon better fuel economy. Sales reflected the lack of interest.
      Asked about G.M.’s decision to pull the plug on the hybrid, Joe Menegos, sales manager at a Chevrolet dealership in National City, Calif., told The Wall Street Journal, “We could care less.”

        Bean counters at G.M. probably share that sentiment. According to The Journal, G.M. lost money on every Malibu Hybrid it built, but the pressure to be in the hybrid marketplace justified the loss. Now with the sale of Saturn’s assets to Roger Penske, the only hybrids in the G.M. fleet are trucks, including the Tahoe Hybrid and the Silverado Hybrid. Terry Rhadigan, a G.M. spokesman, said G.M. would have a new mild hybrid system on new models by next summer, though he stopped short of naming specific models.

http://www.2010chevymalibu.net