GM is poised to go fully electric by 2035, which means a switch from internal combustion to battery power for the entirety of GM’s passenger vehicle portfolio in less than 15 years. That switch will include the Chevy Corvette, but now, it looks as though we may get a full Corvette EV model well before the 2035 deadline.
According to a recent report from Automotive News, GM is cooking up a new Corvette EV for release in 2025, as well as a new crossover model that will also bear the Corvette nameplate.
“Forecasters expect an electric version of the sports car in 2025 along with at least one Corvette crossover around 2025,” Automotive News reports. “The EVs will be built at GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly in Michigan.”
At present, the GM Lansing Grand River plant produces the Cadillac CT4 and Cadillac CT5, including the high-performance CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing model variants, as well as the Chevy Camaro.
As GM Authority covered previously, a new Corvette EV model is more or less a foregone conclusion at this point, given GM’s goal to switch to electric power by 2035. In fact, in a statement made back in April, GM President Mark Reuss confirmed that The General would offer a “fully electric, Ultium-based Corvette in the future.”
That said, the form which this upcoming Corvette EV will take has been something of a mystery. Essentially, there are three possible scenarios that could lead to the launch of the upcoming Corvette EV, the first of which is a retrofit of the existing GM Y2 platform that underpins the C8 Corvette to accommodate Ultium-based batteries and Ultium drive motors. Although technically a possibility, this is highly unlikely, given the Y2 platform was never intended to accommodate full EV components and the fact that such a model would compete for production capacity at the GM Bowling Green plant.
Another possibility is that GM could introduce a new Corvette EV with the next-gen C9 Corvette, but again, assuming the 2025 timing is correct, this also seems unlikely.
The more likely scenario is that the Corvette EV will be a completely different model from the C8, but with a Corvette badge attached, with GM taking a page from Ford’s playbook when it created the Mustang Mach-E. Assuming what we know so far, this seems to make the most sense.
Of course, we will follow this story to see how it develops, so subscribe to GM Authority for more mid-engine Corvette news, Corvette C8 news, Corvette news, Chevrolet news, GM electric vehicle news, and 24/7 GM news coverage.
Comments
The only reason why Ford designed and labeled its EV crossover as a Mustang was to make a splash on the market as the company had a lot of ground to make up and quickly. Using an iconic name like Mustang did that for them.
That won’t be the case with the Corvette. GM has plenty of time to design and engineer the EV Corvette to look and drive just like a Corvette should.
To assume they’re just going to slap a badge on a FWD-biased SUV like Ford just ignores everything GM has said and done with Ultium up to this point.
The more likely scenario is GM spinning Corvette off into its own brand so it can sell it in more markets including Europe. Chevrolet doesn’t necessarily hold value outside North America but Corvette does.
Putting the Mustang name on a CUV diluted the Mustang brand in my opinion. Kind of like Chrysler did with the Le Baron name: it used to be the top of the line Imperial and then it was slapped on every Chrysler including entry level compacts.
The mustang EV is an ugly piece of garbage. Doesn’t even look like a Mustang should. Looks like a family SUV.
Agree, let’s just destroy the brand like Cadillac did with the Cimmeron.
I think corvette should stay the way it is and then they should use the dying Camaro name on the new cuv
Corvettes hold their value because of what they are, not what they’re named.
Can’t wait for the Corvette Crossover. These will sell like hotcakes.
Not!
What about a Corvette station wagon? LOLOLOL.
Lest we kid ourselves, a crossover basically IS a station wagon. A taller, uglier station wagon
Agreed!
Vast chasm between selling like hotcakes and being a good idea…
Porsche pulled it off
Not a fan of a SUV Corvette. To me is is the sam3 crap Ford did with the Mustang name.
Companies like Porsche need them for the volume but Chevy has volume and it is just a money grab for Chevy.
I am sure it will be interesting but not worth damaging them Corvette name equity.
One bad car can damage decades of a good name.
Be aware as late in the game as it is now odds are good it will be an EV.
Yes the ERay may be a SUV.
I could understand a crossover with a Camaro name, but putting “Corvette” on a what is essentially a bus (or a car on high heels), doesn’t work for me.
True, it will sell well, just as Mustang Mach-E is selling, but that Mach-E really has destroyed the sporty image Mustang used to have – the Mustang these days is a “bus”. In 10 years, the Mustang name will just be a far-flung memory of what used to be a sports / pony car.
Look at what happened with Thunderbird: the 4-door cars of the 70s just destroyed its brand image and appeal, whereas in the 50s and 60s it could stand next to Lincoln. But they sold a lot before bringing it to the grave… The same happened with BelAir, followed by Impala, followed by Caprice: each time the halo name was destroyed by mass-popularizing it. Porsche is the same: yes they sell a ton of SUVs but the spirit of the 911 has been completely destroyed and replaced by “ah yes Porsche is now a minivan company”.
Or remember Packard: they also popularized the brand with the 120? Yes they sold a lot but were out of business 15 years later.
I really don’t get… In 10 years people will write “do you remember the time when Corvette was a sports car competing with Ferrari? Yeah too bad they only make busses any more.”
A sports car must remain a sports car – Sporty is long and low. A bus is not a sports car – High, short and narrow is not sporty…
By the way, Ferrari is planning the same stuff with the Purosangue, it’s not only GM.
What’s next? Mack trucks building an electric bike? Come’on…
It worked out for Porsche.
Apples v. Oranges re the Porsche comment. Porsche is a make, not a model, and they made an EV, but they didn’t call it 911, GT3, etc…they gave their EV its own name. I doubt anyone takes issue by GM rolling out a new SUV EV, but calling it a Corvette will harm the longstanding Corvette sports car brand.
Ford calling theirs a Mustang was terrible for enthusiasts, regardless of sales numbers.
I fear the Chevelle name will get destroyed one day soon too.
It sure has. Porsche went from having an overdone VW, to a complete and highly profitable line of vehicles. I’m sure GM believes they can do the same w the CORVETTE brand.
The best selling T Birds were the 1977-79 generation. Go figure.
You don’t have to worry about one being collectible. The battery and electronics will be a nightmare to deal with down the road.
An EV Corvette will have to swoon over a new generation of buyers and it probably will. The teenagers and young adults are now growing up in the battery age with EV vehicles are coming on line. For us baby boomers it might be a stab in the heart for it was this generation brought the Corvette to its prominence.
For a more dramatic example of brand dilution, look at Oldsmobile. At one point there were Cutlass Supremes, Cutlass Cruisers, Cutlass Cieras, Cutlass Calais, and Cutlass Supreme Classic Broughams. Time was you knew what a Cutlass was…and look what happened to Oldsmobile…
At least gm is building this reiteration of the Corvette in the US, not Mexico like the “Mustang” Mach E.
Pontiac should have been kept after bankruptcy strictly as a performance brand. It could have used existing platforms with different powertrains early on. If it worked it could hold its own, have a decent budget and become the brand that showcases designs such as the current Blazer CUV and this proposed Vett CUV. GM don’t mess with a legacy that is killing it right now. Blazer name for that vehicle was a mistake. A Vett hybrid EV & ICE, great. A fully electric Vett, OK. A Vett CUV…Don’t do it…
So essentially throw away Corvettes with massive sticker prices. Lovely
I think the author of the article took speculation and literary license a little far suggesting a crossover. EV absolutely.
A Corvette cross over,PLEASE say it ain’t so. GM don’t fall into that trap
Gm should have killed off Buick and Kept Pontiac. I have a couple of 60’s Pontiac’s,thay are a piece of art.
Maybe GM should offer a Corvette chassis cab so they can make aftermarket RV’s out of them. 😉
How thrilling. Listening to an electric whosh go by. Gee, that’s a head turner ! Nah.
Whatever, I guess my primary driver will be a truck.
What’s next a lace trimmed interior?
I think the Ultium platform allows for individual cells to be replaced, so that’s an improvement at least. Also, if you look closely, it’s not just the younger generation buying EVs.
Irrelevant – I’ll be dead by then…
A Corvette without a V8 is a Corvette without a soul
I notice the EV naysayers are generally people who have no experience with all electric or plug in hybrids. I respectfully disagree with them and I have owned two PHEVs, both by GM. First, the current and planned EV ranges are good for most customers most of the time. Very few drivers go more than 100 miles per day on a regular basis and most EVs now offer at least 200 miles range. Yes, that drops in very cold or very hot weather, but not to less than half. Currently an EV owner needs to rent an ICE car to go on a long road trip, but how many times a year do they do that? Perhaps you rent an ICE car once a year to solve the range problem. Second, people often complain about recharge time. How long do you spend at gas stations? Who has handled that nozzle handle before you? Do you wish you could wash your hands after? If you are a homeowner and can install a level 2 (220 volt, like a clothes dryer) charger, you spend a lot less time filling your ‘tank’. It takes less than 30 seconds to plug in and a few hours later, or the next morning, 30 seconds to disconnect to be on your way. Probably save hours a year driving into the gas station and standing around. No one but myself or my wife touches that ‘nozzle’ and there are no noxious fumes, no spills, no toxic chemicals. It seems so much better than spending 10-15 minutes to go to my local Costco (for the cheapest gas), then waiting 5 minutes in line and another 5 minutes to actually get the gas). 20-30 minutes of my time gone, versus one minute in my own garage.
Many of us want the freedom to not have to pre-plan or otherwise structure our time around charging…whether it’s planning a rental for a long trip or otherwise. Also, I never spend 15 minutes driving to a gas station…I fill up when I’m low and the gas station is on my way to wherever I’m going…it’s simply not something that requires thought, let alone pre-planning or having to have contractors install equipment at my house.
Waiting in line at a gas station, while it has happened, is a rarity…and I live in a large city. And I keep a container of alcohol wipes in my cupholder (thanks to COVID)…hands are clean as soon as I fill up. My gas station visits are quite short and there’s really nothing inconvenient about it.
If someone likes EVs, I’m glad he/she has the options now…having options that better one’s life is fantastic…I have a friend that loves his EV. That said, the idea of being coerced into something, or losing any freedom (even if perceived by others as minor), is simply unacceptable for many of us.
Leave the Corvette alone. Let it be the new Camaro. It’s made at that plant anyway, and they have been saying the Camaro is going EV soon anyway.