As avid General Motors fans, all of us are concerned about the company’s dwindling sedan count. For 2025, the General will offer just three sedans to American consumers: the Cadillac CT4, the Cadillac CT5, and the highly exclusive Cadillac Celestiq, which, it could be argued, isn’t even a sedan in the first place. But fear not, friends and fans, as GM is poised to reenter the mainstream sedan segment in a big way with the ChEVelle SS sedan!

ChEVelle SS Instead Of CamEro

Billed as an electric performance halo, the upcoming Chevelle SS sedan, or ChEVelle SS as Chevrolet marketing will likely stylize it, is Chevrolet’s bid to connect with both classic muscle car enthusiasts and fans of renewable energy. With the clock ticking for the Alpha sedans, CT4, CT5, and their exceptional Blackwing counterparts, it seems the brass at General Motors is trying to build a performance portfolio similar to their crosstown rivals at Ford. The Corvette will cover the internal combustion coupe segment to compete against the Mustang. The electric Blazer SS will be a spiritual Camaro replacement and Mustang Mach-E fighter. ChEVelle SS is being ramped up to battle the rumored Mustang sedan Ford has reportedly shown to dealers. 

The Chinese Connection

Because the CT4 and CT5 will be sunsetting sooner rather than later, GM brass had to find a quick alternative to developing a ground-up electric performance halo. They discovered a solution in what some would consider the most unlikely place: China. It just so happened that one of the General’s Chinese stalwarts, Baojun, had recently announced the launch of their Xiang Jing flagship sedan. Chevrolet has reportedly been tasked with exporting a moderate number of the line-topping Battery Electric Vehicle Xiang Jing to rebadge and market as the ChEVelle SS performance halo. This should be a big win for Chevrolet since the ChEVelle SS will beat the Mustang sedan to market by years. Also, by signing on to a program that has already been developed and needs minimal changes to market in America, Chevy can fulfill the ultimate vision for what the seventh-generation Camaro was supposed to be: affordable performance. 

With the proposed ground-up CamEro program, we couldn’t hit our goal of offering Porsche Taycan level performance at the price of a Hyundai Veloster N. Focusing on a quality rebrand like ChEVelle SS would expand the appeal of the Chevrolet family to a wider variety of consumers, from Camry buyers to performance buyers.” – N.G. Happin, GM Rebrand Manager

Of course, this won’t be the first time General Motors has used its global resources to plug holes in the North American lineup. Like most global automakers, GM is increasingly engineering its offerings to be flexible enough to sell through many brands in many markets. Recent examples of this philosophy include the Pontiac GTO, the Pontiac G8, and the Chevrolet SS sedan, all sourced from Holden, GM’s Australian subsidiary.   

It Worked For Dodge

While Chevelle coupes are emblazoned in all our memories as Chevrolet’s preeminent muscle car, this isn’t the first Chevelle sedan Chevrolet has offered. When asked if bodystyle is relevant, Chevy officials point to Dodge and its success transforming the coupe-only Charger into America’s best-selling muscle sedan. That makes sense, given that coupe sales have declined even more than sedan sales in the past decade. Simply put, it’s becoming more difficult for OEMs to justify building performance coupes. Choosing to close the book on a Camaro coupe and partnering with Baojun on a rebranded sedan reduces Chevrolet’s liability in both the sedan segment and overall market. 

Hitting dealerships around April 1st, 2026, the first run of ChEVelle SS will be 1,000 collector-grade examples called the Dupe Edition. The Dupe Edition will feature special yellow paint, 24-inch Super Sport Wheels, and audio exhaust that’s been specifically tuned to sound like a 1970 Chevelle SS454.