Chevrolet Camaro reportedly dead by 2024

The Chevrolet Camaro will be axed in 2024 and effectively replaced by an all-new “electric performance sedan” in 2025, according to respected US industry publication Automotive News.

That’s not necessarily big news for Aussies in the market for a muscle car, at least from a factory-backed right-hand drive converter, given the current sixth-generation Camaro is unlikely to make a return to local showrooms via the new GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) dealer network.

But it could have big ramifications for Australia’s premier motorsport series, the Repco Supercars Championship, in which the Camaro was set to replace the Holden Commodore from 2022.

That has now been delayed by six months after the introduction of new ‘Gen3’ Supercars regulations, which will bring a new control chassis and bodywork that more closely resembles the production coupes from Ford and GM, until August 2022.

carsales understands one of the reasons for delay is the global launch of the seventh-generation (S650) Ford Mustang in mid-2022. The replacement for Australia’s top-selling sports car is expected to have a lifespan of eight years – two more than the existing S550 model, which was the first global Mustang.

But if the AN report proves correct, the Camaro will make its Australian Supercars debut in August 2022 and compete for just one full season (2023) before the Chevy muscle car is axed in the US the following year (2024), although it’s likely to race on here well beyond that.

When it was confirmed for Supercars in October 2020, then General Motors Australia and New Zealand chief Kristian Aquilina said the Camaro ZL1 would promote other Chevrolet models sold by GMSV, including the Silverado and Corvette – not necessarily the Camaro itself.

“The Camaro ZL1 Supercar will undoubtedly attract passion and excitement, as well as showcase the Chevy bow-tie that is integral to our new GM Specialty Vehicles business in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

“We loved every minute of our 51-year involvement through Holden. There will never be another Holden, but we now welcome Camaro to the stage and hopefully a whole new generation of fans with it.”

The Ford Mustang was North America’s first modern two-door muscle car in 1964 and the Mk6 model released in 2015 remains the top-seller in the US, where it found well over 100,000 buyers annually until 2007.

Chevrolet launched its first Camaro two years later in 1966 and the sixth generation in 2016, but by 2020 its annual sales had shrunk to less than 30,000 – less than half that of the Dodge Challenger, which dates back to 1969 but hasn’t been fully renewed since the third generation launched in 2008.

The Challenger and its Charger sedan sister model appear to be on borrowed time until 2024, when Dodge will introduce “the world’s first full battery-electric muscle car”, previewed by the all-wheel drive ‘eMuscle’ performance car concept.

Like the quickest performance EVs from Tesla, the Dodge EV is claimed to hit 100km/h in about two seconds, as well as offering 800km of driving range, and it could spell the end of the famous HEMI V8 that has powered Dodges, Chryslers and Jeeps for decades.

Similarly, Automotive News reports the Camaro will be effectively replaced mid-decade by an all-new “electric performance sedan” that will likely wear a different nameplate.

That is unless GM chooses to leverage the iconic Camaro badge in the same way Ford did with its battery-powered Mustang Mach-E crossover.

According to AN, the final sixth-generation Camaro will roll off Chevrolet’s production line in Lansing, Michigan in 2024 – a year later than previously expected.

Instead of a seventh-generation Camaro coupe, Chevrolet will end its 60-year V8 sports car rivalry with Ford by introducing an unnamed four-door EV that will likely employ GM’s latest-generation ‘Ultium’ battery tech.

Like the Mustang Mach-E and Dodge’s upcoming EV muscle car, Chevrolet’s electric performance sedan is expected to be available in both traditional rear-drive single-motor and all-wheel drive dual-motor forms.

As part of a $37 billion investment in electric and autonomous vehicle development, General Motors has promised 30 new EVs by 2025, including the GMC Hummer EV pick-up and SUV, an electric Silverado and at least another battery-powered full-size ute.