GM ‘Not Even Close’ To Meeting Corvette C8 Demand

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Demand for the Corvette C8 Stingray has been strong from the moment the car debuted. High traffic almost crashed the online configurator tool on the night of the vehicle’s unveiling – which served as a sign of the frenzy that was to come over the mid-engine sports car. The automaker sold out of its build slots for the initial 2020 production run shortly after and, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, had to push many 2020 orders to 2021.

That high demand has lasted throughout the first six months of 2021 and looks set to continue for the 2022 model year. Tony Johnson, director of car and crossover marketing for Chevy, told GM Authority executive editor Alex Luft in a recent interview that the automaker is working around-the-clock to ramp up production output to try and meet the unexpectedly high demand.

“No, not even close,” Johnson said when asked if the automaker was keeping up with demand. “We have more orders than we can handle.”

“I can’t give you a number (on how many orders we’ve received), but I can tell you it’s significant,” Johnson added. “We’re working on meeting that demand. We know there’s a lot of customers who really, really are excited to get their hands on a Corvette.”

The Corvette C8 program has been hampered by production issues from the outset. Chevy initially hoped to begin production of the sports car in late 2019, but the start date was pushed back due to the 40-day UAW strike. The production line at GM Bowling Green Assembly was only up and running for a brief period of time before the COVID-19 pandemic forced GM to shut it back down last March. Subsequent parts shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic have occurred throughout 2020 and 2021, leading to further supply issues.

Now, with demand for the C8 Corvette Stingray at a high and production output remaining relatively low, the automaker is struggling to keep up with demand. Some customers who placed an order for a new 2021 model year C8 Corvette Stingray have had their orders pushed back to 2022 as a result, while dealerships have been applying steep $5,000 to $10,000 “market adjustments” on the few vehicles they do have in stock. The automaker stopped accepting new sold orders for the 2021 Corvette Stingray in March due to high demand, as well.

It goes without saying that Corvette Stingray sales have been rocking since last year’s launch. The automaker sold 21,626 examples of the car for the 2020 calendar year – a very strong market performance considering the COVID-affected production schedule. The Vette also dominated the sports car market in Q1 2021, taking 51 percent of the segment market share in the U.S. with sales of 6,611 units.

Sales Numbers - Premium Sports Cars - 2020 Calendar Year - USA

MODEL YTD 20 / YTD 19 YTD 20 YTD 19 YTD 20 SHARE YTD 19 SHARE CHEVROLET CORVETTE +20.22% 21,626 17,988 51% 44% PORSCHE 911 -4.59% 8,840 9,265 21% 22% PORSCHE 718 -11.16% 3,447 3,880 8% 9% MERCEDES-BENZ AMG GT -17.09% 3,489 4,208 8% 10% MERCEDES-BENZ SLC-CLASS +15.33% 2,122 1,840 5% 4% MERCEDES-BENZ SL-CLASS +5.44% 1,782 1,690 4% 4% AUDI R8 +1.22% 581 574 1% 1% NISSAN GT-R -8.16% 304 331 1% 1% FORD GT -23.58% 175 229 0% 1% BMW I8 -82.67% 191 1,102 0% 3% ACURA NSX -46.22% 128 238 0% 1% TOTAL +3.24% 42,685 41,345

Buyers of the C8 Corvette Stingray are also not afraid to equip the vehicle with options, driving up GM’s bottom line. For example, over 60 percent of vehicles sold thus far were ordered with the $5,995 Z51 Performance Package, which includes a performance exhaust system, electronic limited slip differential and other performance-focused add ons.

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