GM will stop making select Chevy, Buick, and Cadillac sedans

The 2019 Cadillac CT6.Cadillac

• GM announced on Monday that it will idle three assembly plants and cut more than 14,000 jobs in a major strategy shift.
• The company will also shift its resources away from passenger cars towards crossovers, SUVs, trucks, and EVs. 
• In addition, GM confirmed that the passenger car six models made at the soon-to-be-closed factories will go out of production. 
• These models include the Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, and Buick LaCrosse.

General Motors announced a major shift in its business strategy on Monday that will see the automaker shift its focus towards trucks, SUVs, and EVs. 

The announcement also signals a shift away from the traditional sedan which has been losing sales to crossovers and SUVs for much of the past decade. 

As a result, the company has decided to “deallocate” production at three assembly plants that currently build sedans; Oshawa Assembly in Canada, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan, and Lordstown Assembly in Ohio. To deallocate production simply means that GM won’t assign any models to be produced at these facilities beyond 2019. According to Matthew DeBord, Business Insider senior transportation correspondent, GM can’t officially shut down these plants under its current UAW union contract, which is set to be renegotiated in 2019.

GM will also shut down two factories in Maryland and Michigan that supply transmissions to the soon-to-be-shuttered assembly plants. 

Sadly, the company also announced that it will reduce its salaried and contract salaried employees by 15%, including a 25% reduction in the number of executives. This equates to more than 14,000 jobs. 

According to the GM, the new strategy will save the company $6 billion. 

As for the cars made at the soon-to-be idle plants, GM has confirmed they too will get the ax. Based on the numbers, the automaker’s move away from sedans makes sense. 

Through the first three quarters of 2018, GM’s US sales are down 1.2%. However, its sedans performed, on the whole, substantially worse. For example, sales of the Lordstown produced Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan is down 26.5%. The Hamtramck made Chrevolet Volt range-extended EV saw sales fall 13.7%. Sales of the full-size Chevy Impala, made at both Oshawa and Hamtramck, is down 13.4%. Hamtramck’s Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac CT6 saw sales fall 14.2% and 10.6% respectively. The only model set to get the ax with positive sales growth is the Oshawa’s Cadillac XTS, which is up 15.9%. 

Read more: GM will stop building cars at 3 North American factories and cut its salaried workforce by 15% in 2019 as it shifts to electric and self-driving cars.

While sales may have slipped, many of GM’s sedans have earned critical acclaim. For example, the current generation full-size Impala has long been praised for its comfort and refinement. The Impala has also made frequent appearances on Consumer Reports’ Top Picks list. “The Impala continues to be a gem among large cars, providing a driving experience that’s akin to a luxury car,” the publication said of the Chevy earlier this year.

The Cadillac CT6 represents a high point of American luxury carmaking. “The Cadillac’s superb amalgamation of luxury and performance makes the CT6 a true standout in the luxury market,” Business Insider wrote in a 2017 comparison with the Lincoln Continental. 

And then there’s the Chevrolet Volt. The range-extended EV helped push GM toward the forefront from production electric propulsion technology when it debuted in 2011. The second and current generation Volt debuted in 2016 and with expanded capabilities. 

Here’s a closer look at the six sedans that will be discontinued by GM: