The internal combustion engine is coming to an end. Chevrolet, in particular, knows it, and one of its next moves is rumored to be electrifying its ailing Camaro brand as a four-door performance sedan (via Automotive News)

It makes perfect sense when you think about it: Chevy's biggest rivals Ford and Dodge are increasingly going electric. And the auto industry is slowly making a similar shift to EVs, and it's do-or-die.

By and large, the Camaro has been trailing its two biggest rivals, the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, for the past few years. In fact, according to Automotive News, the Mustang outperformed the Camaro 2-to-1 in 2018.

Car and Driver also reported that Chevrolet sold only 30,000 Camaros in 2020, which is a 38.3% decrease from 2019. The Coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to that drop, but it is clear that things are not looking good for the brand.

Previous leaks and rumors speculated that the Camaro would disappear at the end of the current generation, expected around 2024. However, the plan may be to reinvent the brand through the medium of electrification and as a four-door sedan.

After all, the Camaro has only ever been available in a two-door variant, so this would be a very big change for the brand--assuming the rumor is indeed true.

It could be argued that a major change like electrification is also a great opportunity to offer other major design changes. Furthermore, if the Camaro is really struggling with sales numbers, a design change may be one of the things needed to revitalize Camaro sales.

Chevrolet has reportedly declined to comment on the rumors, but parent company General Motors has already announced grand plans for electrification, with 30 new electric vehicles expected by 2025.

GM has also announced that it intends to be fully electrified by 2035 and not sell gasoline or diesel vehicles. However, it stressed that this goal is entirely dependent on market and consumer support for EVs.

What the future holds for the Camaro will depend on whether Chevrolet makes any announcements. For now, we don't even know what is happening to the current non-electric model.

There are rumors that GM has extended the Camaro's life from 2024 to 2026, but they have not announced when Camaro production will end. Stay tuned for further developments.