After nine generations, the Chevrolet Malibu is headed for the door sometime between the 2022 and 2025 model years. The sedan won't disappear without any product planning love, though, as GM Authority is reporting the 2021 Malibu will add another appearance package to the two already offered on the penultimate LT trim. It's called the Sport Edition Package, and it brings black Bowtie emblems and Malibu badges, a blacked-out grille, and 19-inch painted aluminum wheels wrapped in 245/40 all-season tires. That feature set happens to duplicate the add-ons that come with the Midnight Edition Package currently offered on the Malibu. But whereas the Midnight Edition can only be optioned on Malibus painted Mosaic Black Metallic, the Sport Edition Package can only be optioned on Malibus that are any color but Mosaic Black Metallic.

Assuming it happens like this, why wouldn't Chevy swap out the Midnight Edition for the Sport Edition? We don't know, but we'd guess that it's because the automaker wants to keep pulling from the deep brand equity in its jet black Midnight Editions available throughout the lineup, and a Summit White or Northsky Blue Midnight Edition ruins the darkness.

The Midnight Edition is a $795 option at the moment. Unless there's another twist in this plot, we expect the Sport Edition to cost the same.

The $995 Redline Edition Package, counter to what one might think, is really just another way to get dark accents on a Malibu. It blacks out the Bowtie badges, grille, and logos, puts a red border around the Malibu script, affixes black mirror caps, and bolts on a set of 19-inch black wheels with red hash marks. Shoppers can only get a Redline Package Malibu painted in three of the eight colors offered for the sedan: Mosaic Black Metallic, Silver Ice Metallic, or Summit White.

A Jet Black interior is required for all three packages.

If the most recent report is correct, the Malibu gets the boot at the end of 2023 model year, meaning about halfway through 2022. That would move the sedan's axing up by about three years compared to Chevy's original timeline. The Malibu increased its sales through the first quarter of this year, surprisingly, but plummeted in Q2 by more than 60%.

With shifts away from traditional sedans and internal-combustion for electric power, the Chevrolet Malibu's days have long been numbered. On Wednesday, General Motors announced Malibu production would end in November. The Detroit News reports that the next-generation Bolt will eventually take the Malibu's place at GM's Fairfax Assembly in Kansas.

"To facilitate the installation of tooling and other plant modifications, after nine-generations and over 10 million global sales, GM will end production of the Chevrolet Malibu in November 2024 and pause production of the Cadillac XT4 after January 2025," a GM spokesperson told the Detroit News in a statement.

As a result of the Malibu's demise, there will be layoffs at the plant until it starts building cars again in late 2025. The plant will build both the new Bolt and XT4 side-by-side. When the XT4 reenters production, it will be in its current form. Cadillac has no plans to electrify the model despite being produced alongside the next Bolt.