Chevrolet Malibu hits the market in China, priced to win

Chevrolet China | Ash | February 16, 2012 at 4:08 pm

The Chevrolet Malibu is going to be Chevrolet’s next big winner in the Chinese market, in the next four months we suspect that the Malibu will see sales of over 10,000 units per month and within the next year it will easily be over the 15,000 per month segment. Why’s that? Because the Malibu has hit the Chinese market at just the right price. Chinese consumers seem to appreciate low cost good looking vehicles, see the Chevrolet Cruze for an example of that (Jan 2011 sales 17,477 units , Jan 2012 sales 22,711 units, 29% increase), it looks like the Malibu will continue on the same trajectory as the Cruze.

Pricing for the Malibu is as follows:

2.0l Classic – 162,000
2.0L Standard – 169,000
2.0L Luxury – 179,000
2.4L Luxury – 199,000
2.4L Flagship – 229,000

The Malibu does have some competition, the Japanese Three of Nissan, Toyota and Honda have had their respective mid size sedans in the market for some time, the latest generation of Camry has just launched but pricing is not as aggressive as the Malibu, nor is the Accord or Teana. The Buick Regal will also feel some heat from the launch of the Malibu, although the two share the same platform the Malibu’s refreshing design will probably win potential buyers over to the Malibu nameplate as the Regal is getting a little long in the tooth.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.