General Motors will not fulfill all of the orders it has received for the 2020 Corvette and will instead offer affected customers a 2021 model year car, the automaker said this week.
Speaking to The Detroit Free Press, GM spokesman Kevin Kelly confirmed the automaker will not be able to build all of the 2020 Corvette orders it has received due to the two-month COVID-19 shutdown.
“We’ve had an enormous demand for this vehicle and we had that work stoppage and we have suppliers trying to come up to speed too,” Kelly told the Free Press. “The plant is still coming up from COVID. We still haven’t brought up the second shift yet, so we’re still ramping up.”
Complications brought on by the pandemic forced GM to close the Bowling Green Assembly plant in Kentucky for two months and also forced many of its suppliers to shut down briefly, as well. The 2020 Corvette is once again rolling off the assembly line at the plant, but parts shortages are preventing GM from reaching full production capacity. According to the Free Press, around 60 to 90 vehicles are rolling off the Bowling Green assembly line a day right now, whereas the plant normally builds 180 cars a day.
“There are issues across the board with suppliers and it’s not just the Corvette,” Kelly said. “You don’t just bring both shifts back up when the production was down. You have to ramp up. We’re ramping up as we get the suppliers online and everyone online.”
GM plans to extend the production of the 2020 Corvette into the fall in order to fulfill as many orders as possible. It had also intended to begin taking orders for the 2021 Corvette in June, but it will now begin accepting 2021 orders in July in order to align with the revised production schedule. GM has not said how many Corvette and Corvette Convertible models it plans to build for the 2020 model year.
The 2021 Corvette will remain largely the same as the 2020 model year vehicle, however it will offer two new paint color options in the way of Red Mist Tintcoat Metallic and Silver Flare Metallic, which replace Long Beach Red Metallic Tintcoat and Blade Silver Metallic.
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This is a bit surprising that Chevrolet already knows it will not be able to fill all 2020 orders for the new C8 Corvette; but you've got to wonder why did they continue to accept orders because there had to have been a number where they knew it was virtually impossible to reach unless everything went smoothly and this never happens.
Chevrolet had no way of knowing that everything in this country would come to a standstill in March. The 2020 Corvette was sold out many months ago, long before the country was shut down by the Wuhan flu. They knew how many they could build, and originally allotted a set number to each dealer, based on that knowledge. Dealers took deposits and placed orders, based on those allotments. Without the shut down, they would have been able to fill their orders. They can't meet their orders now, because outside forces forced them to close for over two months.
A couple years ago I did a tour through the Toyota plant. Let me tell ya, these auto plants have their sh*t together when it comes to planning and parts. It’s like clockwork. I was blown away.
What does this all really matter? Our Country is coming apart at the seams. The wrong people are trying to destroy the American way of life. Does one really think, Joe Blow, not getting his overpriced toy, is going to stop the the Earth from turning. Get over the small stuff. Stand up for our Democracy. Stop the left from destroying it all. Just sayin'
Yeah you Drank the kool-aid the only one trying to destroy the country is Donald Trump
I do think any manufacture would want this problem, "cannot manufacture enough vehicles to meet the demand".
Hey guys they got us. Has anyone actually seen one in the wild? I think it's all photo shop and special effects. I can't believe they got so many of us to put money down, been a year for me. And so many people to play along for a car that does not exist.
What about RHD C8?..Is it DEFINITELY a goer?
I recently read somewhere that one of the Corvette guys, Tadge, maybe?, said that only 17% of the C8 production was the convertible model. Maybe they would have been better off delaying the convertible until the start of the 2021 model, and just build all coupes for the 2020 model year, and give the assembly team a chance to get fluent in the building of one model, and keep the line moving as fast as possible. It's likely that the assembly team really didn't get a extensive experience of building those few convertibles, and many workers may have forgotten the tips and tricks they may have learned for the convertible, during the recent work stoppage. At the rate of 17%, they're likely only building two to four droptops a day, not enough to get proficient in assembly, at least is the initial days, unless the BG plant schedules a run of several hundred orders in a row, for a week or two. If the BG plant puts out the convertible version in dribs and drabs, it's likely that some owners won't get their cars until late October or early November, too late in the season for many Corvette purists, who would likely be putting their C8 into storage then, for the winter. Starting the 2021 production in December or early January, as announced, but making the first four to six week's production just convertibles would put a lot of those models into dealer's hands, just as winter is ending and the warmer weather rolls in.
For cancelling the convertible production for 2020, maybe Chevrolet could offer those 2020 buyers some sort of good will consolation gesture, such as a Corvette Museum delivery, or their choice of the custom color brake calipers or seat belts, or the carbon-fiber trim in the engine compartment option, or the front-end raising option, at no cost to those buyers.
Looks like it will be 2022 for the Family First Plan and when I might score a C8. ☹️
As the old saying goes: "All good things come to those who wait!" LOL
Pleased GM held over the pricing. The wait is tough, but given the real issues in the world..... just hoping peace, health & jobs come back soon.