Chevrolet has sold its 10 millionth Malibu 51 years after first introducing the mid-size sedan as a trim level of the Chevrolet Chevelle in the 1964 model year.

The Malibu, which became its own model line in 1978, is now sold in 25 markets around the globe. Chevrolet sells more than 90 percent of Malibu cars in the U.S., China, and Korea.

Chevrolet first offered the Malibu as a rear-wheel-drive sedan, and produced it until 1983. Among the more colorful uses came in 1981, when General Motors of Canada produced a special order of Malibu sedans for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government. The Malibu body style was extensively used in NASCAR from 1973 to 1983.

Chevrolet brought the Malibu back in 1997 as a front-wheel-drive model. The sedan will enter its ninth generation with the 2016 model year when it goes on sale later this year.