Next-Gen Chevrolet Bolt EV Kills Off a Cadillac SUV

General Motors announced back in May of this year that it would be scaling back production at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas in early 2025 to retool for future models. That was supposed to mean a complete end of the line for the once-iconic Chevy Malibu gas sedan, which ends production completely this month with no immediate replacement planned. It was also supposed to result in a pause in Cadillac XT4 luxury compact SUV production at the same plant, but now that pause has gone permanent, morphing into an apparent sacrifice.

General Motors has reportedly changed plans, with the XT4 to cease production completely in the U.S. and not return to Kansas in 2025 as previously planned and announced. Instead, the XT4 will no longer be built from January 2025, with remaining inventories being the only remaining models to be sold (so we expect availability and sales deep into 2025 still).

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Versions of the XT4 will continue to be produced locally and sold in China for the foreseeable future. The XT4 was just updated for the 2024 model year, which makes its sacrifice in the U.S. somewhat surprising, especially considering its sales have increased this year, it enjoys a solid sales average year-to-year, and it's Cadillac's best-selling model in Canada.

Both the Chevy Malibu and Cadillac XT4 will have their assembly lines replaced by next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV production, along with an initially reported second model to both begin production later in 2025, likely for the 2026 model year introduction. It's unclear if Cadillac might now get its own version of the Bolt EV platform built at the same factory to replace the XT4. Either way, the affordable next-gen Bolt now has to fill the shoes of not just the original, excellent Bolt model, but it will also need to pick up the combined lost sales volume of the XT4 and the Malibu. We'll see what shows up next year.