Retirement 'not the end of Camaro’s story': Chevrolet will end production in 2024 amid shift to EVs

Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read

General Motors is retiring the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car at the end of model year 2024 as the automaker shifts to an all-electric lineup by 2035.

On Wednesday, GM said the final sixth-generation Camaros will come off the assembly line at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan in January next year.

Scott Bell, vice president of Global Chevrolet, did not say what will replace the muscle car, but said "this is not the end of Camaro’s story."

Front 3/4 view of the 2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Vivid Orange Metallic staged under white text reading, “Thanks, Six.”
Front 3/4 view of the 2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Vivid Orange Metallic staged under white text reading, “Thanks, Six.”

Why is the Camaro being retired?

Chevrolet spokesman Trevor Thompkins told the Free Press that at the end of model year 2024, the sixth-generation Camaro will have completed a strong nine-year lifecycle, and "Chevrolet made the decision now as a part of continuously evaluating our portfolio offerings for progress toward our EV future and sales demand."

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GM started production on the latest model Camaro in late 2016. Its sales comprise a small part of Chevrolet's total sales. It served more as a halo product, like the Corvette, to shine on the brand and bring in new buyers across the portfolio. The Camaro sales were up 12.5% for 2022 compared with the previous year. For all of last year, GM sold 24,652 Camaros. But American-made performance cars have been a declining segment in recent years.

How Chevrolet will mark Camaro's retirement

To mark the Camaro’s end of production, GM will release a collector’s edition package on several 2024 Camaro models, including the top-end ZL1. The Collector’s Edition will pay "homage to Camaro, resurfacing ties that date back to the development of the first generation Camaro in the 1960s," GM said in a news release.

GM said it will provide more information on the 2024 Camaro line and Collector’s Edition package closer to the start of orders this summer.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Chevrolet to end Camaro production at close of model year 2024