Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article mentioned that GM had 55,573 orders on deck. Chevy has informed us that the figure, which came from an internal GM document, was mis-typed. Instead, the actual figure is 5,573 units.
Demand for the C8 Corvette Stingray has been strong since the moment the mid-engine sports car was released and remains extremely high to this day. GM Authority has learned Chevy currently has 5,573 orders on the books for the C8 Corvette, which is equivalent to roughly two and a half months of production based on the current output at the GM Bowling Green plant in Kentucky.
These 5,573 Corvette orders range from 2500 to 3799 status, with the former meaning the orders have been processed for production and the latter meaning the vehicle is currently in production but the VIN has yet to be booked. GM managed to produce 25,831 examples of the 2022 Corvette Stingray and 26,16 units of the 2021 Corvette Stingray, so it should take Chevy about two years to clear out this order backlog.
Last summer, Chevy’s director of car and crossover marketing, Tony Johnson, told GM Authority executive editor Alex Luft that the automaker was working around the clock to ramp up Corvette production output to try and meet the unexpectedly high demand for the vehicle. Johnson said at the time that Chevy was “not even close” to meeting demand for the nameplate and that the automaker has “more orders than we can handle.”
Sales Numbers - Premium Sports Cars - Q2 2022 - USA
| MODEL | Q2 22 / Q2 21 | Q2 22 | Q2 21 | Q2 22 SHARE | Q2 21 SHARE | YTD 22 / YTD 21 | YTD 22 | YTD 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHEVROLET CORVETTE | +8.27% | 8,630 | 7,971 | 63% | 62% | +19.61% | 17,441 | 14,582 |
| PORSCHE 911 | +31.21% | 3,052 | 2,326 | 22% | 18% | +1.31% | 5,175 | 5,108 |
| MERCEDES-BENZ AMG GT | -13.70% | 964 | 1,117 | 7% | 9% | -18.16% | 1,906 | 2,329 |
| PORSCHE 718 | +6.18% | 962 | 906 | 7% | 7% | -27.69% | 1,744 | 2,412 |
| AUDI R8 | -56.73% | 90 | 208 | 1% | 2% | -55.62% | 158 | 356 |
| ACURA NSX | +79.07% | 77 | 43 | 1% | 0% | +105.00% | 123 | 60 |
| FORD GT | -26.67% | 22 | 30 | 0% | 0% | -7.94% | 58 | 63 |
| NISSAN GT-R | -91.86% | 4 | 49 | 0% | 0% | -45.45% | 54 | 99 |
| BMW I8 | -50.75% | 1 | 2 | 0% | 0% | -50.00% | 5 | 10 |
| MERCEDES-BENZ SL-CLASS | -100.00% | 0 | 133 | 0% | 1% | -99.55% | 2 | 444 |
| TOTAL | +7.95% | 13,802 | 12,785 | +4.72% | 26,666 | 25,463 |
“I can’t give you a number (on how many orders we’ve received), but I can tell you it’s significant,” Johnson said. “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.”
Bad luck has compounded with high demand to hamper output of the C8 Corvette Stingray from the get-go. A UAW strike pushed the start of production from late 2019 to early 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic then forcing GM to temporarily shutter the Bowling Green plant shortly after production began. The subsequent months have been marked by the semiconductor chip shortage and other components shortages, further affecting output. A tornado also touched down in the Bowling Green area earlier this year, forcing GM to temporarily close the plant for repairs. The tornado damaged partially-completed Corvette models that were being stored around the plant, as well.
Corvette sales increased 8.27 percent to 8,630 units in the second quarter of this year. GM sold 8,811 examples of the Corvette in Q1 for sales of 17,441 units in the first six months of the year. That means GM is on pace to build roughly 30,000 Corvettes this year, which would be a much higher production output than in 2021 or 2020.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Corvette C8 news, Corvette news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
The C8 is quite possibly the greatest car America has ever produced. Lord knows I want one.
The best Chevy has ever produced? American absolutely not.
That’s my opinion and the argument is valid across the board. It checks all the boxes.
That’s fine and I respect your opinion I think the C8 is awesome but I would never say it’s the best car America produced until John Hennesseey is no more then we can talk.
What does John Hennessey have to do with production C8s? I’m not a fan of him either but he doesn’t add/subtract from the C8’s legacy so far in my opinion.
How about best mass produced car?
Add the number with people with deposits and waiting for an allocation at their dealer. I am on the waiting list at a MSRP selling dealership with a waiting list of 955 as of today. The bigger dealership lists are even bigger.
I’m at 5300 !!!!
While there may be 55,000 C8 orders in the ”order bank”, there is no possible way that there are 55,000 C8 orders at 2500 status or above, which would be firm commitment from GM to produce them. Thats not the way GMs system works. The vast majority of these orders are at 1100 status which means the dealer has entered an order, stock or sold. The allocation process is (basically) weekly, and until the dealer receives allocation orders will remain at 1100. Dealers can enter all the orders they want but GM will only allocate and build as many as they are able to build, and they do that week to week not over two model years.
Hi Ho BL, U should know. 😜
Thanks for the clarification! I am sitting at 1100 status and was worried that there was a 2 year block of customers ahead of me in the pipeline. I am #12 at a dealer who got 57 cars last year, so I am hoping for a 2023 model year and rhe 70th anniversary markings.
Maybe I don’t understand the process enough but if your dealer is getting approximately 60 cars a year (57), that’s about five cars a month. If you’re number 12 on the list, you should have your car within three months, no?
WHAT DEALERSHIP TOOK YOUR ORDER?
Ray, same here, I love my 2022 Torch Red Coupe I waited 14 months for mine! Every time I push that Start button and that sweet 6.2 fires off I just want to go! Be patient people your day will come just like ours! And it’s one of Chevrolets greatest creations hands down!
A weakening economy and future financial headwinds will dictate the “final” numbers. Two years out from now, who knows ? Orders made with intent to flip for profit will shrink ; maybe even cease.
People have been saying the demand won’t last, and prices will fall, since 2020. Hasn’t happened yet.
Simply because production of any vehicle brand/model has not returned to pre covid normalcy. Once the chip shortage is eliminated and people start working instead of taking what they think is free government money production will increase and dealers will once again have inventory. SO many people have lost their minds and think it’s going to be this way forever. Greed and shareholders will drive manufactures to produce. Remember the chip makers that burned and had issues are not back to full potential yet, and the backlog of vehicles sitting at factories….
With this freak show administration nothing will return to what middle class deems normal
55000 bad taste guys with money … wait .. or they are leasing ?
Jealousy doesn’t look good on you.
After readingvthese articles, and your comments, I am appreciating my plain old 2021 C8 with Z51, Mag ride, front lift, 2LT, Torch Red, With Adreniline Red interior, basic stock car.
Nothing Special. But so much fun to drive.
Got it at MSRP. And waited, more than one year from deposit to delivery.
The whole time wondering and not sure if it would ever really happen.
Now I have had it a full year. And it never disappoints.
Same here. Loving my 2021 Z51 3LT in Sebring Orange. It’s nice to sit back and just read about the waiting list for a change.
Thanks for the clarification! I am sitting at 1100 status and was worried that there was a 2 year block of customers ahead of me in the pipeline. I am #12 at a dealer who got 57 cars last year, so I am hoping for a 2023 model year and rhe 70th anniversary markings.
The c8 is a awesome car, nobody else comes close to competing with the performance and price. I owned a 2021 convertible 3 lt in rapid blue, I paid sticker kept the car a year and sold it for a decent profit. As a c8 owner I can say 100% the best car I have ever owned for the money. It has been my 3rd corvette and by night and day this c8 has been the best.
Reading this article make’s me grateful I have maintained my beautiful C6 convertible in pristine condition. 16 years old last January and perfect in every way. I’d buy a C8 tomorrow if I could but for now I’m out of the fray.
I’ve owned and driven 15 Vettes over the past 33 years as my everyday ride. They’ve all been awesome to drive and trouble free including my current ’19 ZR1 ragtop w/19k on the odometer. One of my neighbors regularly asks me if I’m interested in selling it. My answer is NO. When I buy a new ZR1 in ’24 or Zora in ’25, I’m keeping my ’19. There’s a very good reason why there’s an ordering bank 55,000 for a new C8, regardless what the naysayers grumble about. The professional critics and vette owners appreciate the car’s performance, value and the overall driving experience.
I put in my original order 30 months ago and renewed it , on time in April , every model year and still have not gotten mine. My dealership has gotten 1 allocation for the 2023 model year up to now ! I am first in line , at my dealer but he got 0 allocation for June, July, August. GM is the worst company I have had to deal with since the end of 2019 .
Hang in there. Your time will come.
I always thought that the GM system of dealer allocations aimed to prevent commitments to deliver that much in excess of known production capacity. Have all of these orders actually been accepted and booked by Chevy ??
I’ve owned a 2001 Z06 for 14 years. Double black, 50,000 miles. I’m definitely not in your guys league but the car is a beast and I love it. Good luck fellas with the 23 Z06. Car looks and sounds insane
I don’t believe they’re “working around the clock” to fill these orders…I think they could produce this many in a year (and have enough chip capacity), but they simply prefer the current high-demand environment. I don’t fault them for finding their own preferred production balance, but any suggestion that the motivation is not GM maximizing $ is not sincere…meeting demand is a secondary consideration, if even a consideration at all.
If they ramped up production to fulfill current demand, they’d eventually have to cut back in the latter years of the C8’s production, which would offset the financial benefits of increased production now.
Downside for me is that I don’t like the current (exterior) Stingray design, but with this crazy demand there is no business-motivation whatsoever for a refresh.
LJK
I placed my initial order at Bergey Chevrolet, Conshohocken, PA with a $1,000 deposit in the beginning of 2020. I placed the 2nd order with an additional $4,000 deposit in the late fall of 2020. I ordered a Elkhart Lake Blue Z -51, 2LT Coupe with quite a few upgrades. I ended up driving it out of the dealership in late July, 2021at sticker price. The staff at Bergey, particularly Pete DiStefano, were completely professional and lived up to everything they promised.
Since then I have driven “Maybelline” for approximately 4,000 miles including a 1,500 mile road trip with no problems. All I can say is that it is the most fantastic car in all aspects I have every owned.
l am pleased to see that Bowling Green’s backlog is now up to two years. Although I have no intention of selling my Stingray, I believe the backlog and the fact that a 2023 Z- 06 /07 equipped like mine will retail for $140m+- (60% +- more than my car cost) indicates that the value of my Corvette will hold up for the next couple of years in the event I have to sell it.
Chevy sure hit the nail on the head with the C-8. Keep it up
If they made a Porsche 911 Turbo with wing (2020 model I think with vent holes and not the new hairless ones) and priced it the same I’d buy the 911 instead but it would be close.
However, if Ford came back with the DeTamoso Pantera updated and modernize I would buy that over the other two or I”d choose an updated and modernized MGB or TR6 over all of them. Preferably the TR6
Too bad they don’t make it a priority of making parts available to those unfortunate to have problems.
Hoping for no future production interruptions.
55000? Not even close. There are about 5500 orders in GM Workbench. You need better anonymous sources.
I’m not sure if I understand this correctly: I was under the impression that the main wait was the period between you placing the order with your dealer and the dealer placing the order with GM. Once your order went in, your approximate waiting time to get your car was about two months. Based on this article, it seems that the waiting period is about two years AFTER your order has been placed with GM. What am I missing? Thanks!
My order was taken by Mark Scott of Palmetto Chevrolet in Conway South Carolina! No fuss no muss MSRP, tax and tags out the door!!! And he delivered! Nice dealership to do business with well established been around a long time! Mark’s got a great staff that works great together!
Sounds like you have bought from them before. And small town dealerships value their reputation cause everyone knows each other. Mark has to see these same folks at church or ball games
How long from deposit to keys in hand