Production of the 2023 Chevy Corvette C8 will temporarily cease during the week of March 20th at the GM Bowling Green plant in Kentucky due to a parts shortage.
The lack of parts will halt production of both the 2023 Chevy Corvette Stingray and the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06. The Detroit News reports that GM says production will restart on Monday, March 27th.
Corvette assembly at Bowling Green
GM did not say which parts are currently unavailable for production. Noting that demand for the Chevy Corvette C8 remains high, GM representative Dan Flores said the company’s “supply chain, manufacturing and engineering teams are working closely with our supply base to mitigate any further impact on production.”
This is not the first time in recent months Chevy Corvette production has been suspended due to a parts shortage. This is the sixth occasion during the past 12 months that supply issues have forced a similar temporary halt to Corvette manufacture.
GM stopped production at Bowling Green exactly one year ago during the week starting March 21st, 2022. The company didn’t reveal which parts were unavailable at that time, either, though it indicated the semiconductor shortage wasn’t responsible. The halt pushed back release of the 2023 Chevy Corvette Stingray by a week. A similar pause occurred in late April 2022, ending on May 2nd.
Production of the Chevy Corvette proceeded uninterrupted through the later spring and mid-summer of 2022. However, the plant was idled again in late August at a time when plastics and seat foam were in short supply, though GM did not confirm the specific cause. The factory went offline again for one week in mid-October. The current halt is the second to occur so far in 2023.
As a reminder, the Chevy Corvette C8 Stingray is equipped with the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 LT2 gasoline engine developing 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, while the Chevy Corvette C8 Z06 is motivated by the naturally aspirated 5.5L V8 LT6 gasoline engine, which is rated at 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque.
The upcoming Chevy Corvette C8 E-Ray combines the 6.2L V8 LT2 gasoline engine with a single electric motor to produce all-wheel grip and a maximum of 655 horsepower. All three models ride on the GM Y2 platform.
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Comments
Since the company is not mentioning which parts have been causing these production stoppages, should we be assuming the problem is caused by foreign sourced parts? China has become a major supplier in recent years, although the savings have not been reflected in the vehicle MSRP stickers!
With all due respect the C8 is a bargain by any measurement!
GM doesn’t care if you wait until doomsday for your vehicle. The execs are on spring break.
Do you really think that GM would share any of their foreign outsourcing cost reductions savings with their customers? They want to make a decent profit like any business. So….why would they do that?
Assuming anything means you are going beyond the source of information. and creating your own.
It’s everywhere people. Relax and be patient.
(From within the last 12 months, just like GM).
June 16 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Thursday it plans an additional domestic factory line production suspension in June and July due to semiconductor shortages and a COVID-19 outbreak at one of its suppliers.
Thursday’s announcement is the third time the world’s largest automaker by sales has adjusted its June production plans, which are down about 12% from its original plan.
Why can’t GM get its’ act together? Production stoppages seem to be a normal activity at GM. Other manufactures such as Toyota and Subaru are not having problems with parts.
GM needs new leadership now!
They can’t fire the CEO.
Affirmative Action Hire.
Trump was right. Globalism sucks.
Go ahead and buy a rice burner, and support the foreign car company’s they have the same issues we do here in the USA .
Better to not deliver incomplete builds an retrofit. I would prefer delayed and complete.
Let me guess, there’s a 100 day supply like the Silverados? LOL
I have a 2LT Z51 on order…about ready to tell them their incompetent leadership can keep their car…tired of waiting.
I wouldnt mind if my wait was because others ordered before me…but because parts suppliers cannot live up to their delivery contract…and what makes it even worse…they will not name what parts / shortage is the cause!! INCOMPETENT LEADERSHIP..including the buyers who are not doing their job..selecting outsource suppliers who show a history of NOT delivering their orders on time…disrupting PRODUCTION AND ANGERING CUSTOMERS!
Time for Mary Barra to step down and find an experienced competent leader who can manage the business…if she put as much energy in the electric car business…the Vette customers awaiting their orders to be build..would not be waiting!
I think you should immediately terminate your order. Buy a rice burner you’ll be happier.
Is that what you did…..
Don’t cancel, you’ll be sorry, I waited 13 months for mine 21 2LT Z/51 took delivery 9//10 when the 22’s we’re being built, but yea I was mad but glad I didn’t cancel. Hang in there
Wait , trust me. I waited 35 months. It is worth the wait.
Mary Barra needs to fire the leadership team that manages supplier relations and production inventory or she too needs to step down. Everyone knows the high demand for the Corvette. They know the maximum number of Covettes they can produce in a year hence the number of parts needed. It has been three years since COVID and the supply chain issues. GM has had plenty of time to find alternative suppliers both on-shore and off-shore as well as the opportunity to invest in manufacturing their own parts. It’s said that production had to be stopped six times in the last 12 months due to parts shortages. Unacceptable. As Mark noted above Toyota and Subaru are not have issues. Why is that? If GM spent as much time and money on solving its supplier/parts issues as they do on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE) it wouldn’t have this issue.
Perhaps the production line should run at a slower pace. Or give longer breaks to the workers. Whatever the problems are, it’s not a life or death proposition as it would be if the Ukrainians run out of ammunition.
Hang in there. The wait will be worth it. It will all be in the past once you accept deliervey.
I’m thinking about what one of the Astronauts in the early Mercury Space Capsules had to say to the reporters who were at the Kennedy Space Center when asked “how does it feel to be strapped into a rocket heading for outer space”…and his reply was a classical response (and I am paraphrasing here) “it’s somewhat disconcerting knowing that I’m tied down in a rocket, built by the lowest bids given to everyone in the Space Program”! My point being GM is very similar to the government when ever bids have to be taken to complete and run a production program of a given product. As a retired GM employee with close to 40 years of service, I can speak with authority…we do use parts suppliers that have given us the lowest of bids, but of course they have to meet our specs, and in all cases they do, however “their” parts suppliers may not be doing so, which could be the cause of some of the problems with parts that GM/Corvette has been going through.
As with our government, GM keeps many secrets to themselves (and for mostly good reasons) and if they do release any information at all about things in general, it is scrutinized very closely before given out. This works both ways, one to not give out false information leading to incorrect info published, and two…when GM does do something that would cause a major uproar with it’s potential customers (like halting production lines do to a parts shortage, ahem) by them not saying anything at all, this leaves everyone to speculate as to the problem while GM attempts to correct the concern, albeit at a slower pace due to substandard people and businesses that they tend to deal with on occasion.
It’s just one of the ways to control the money flow…however sometimes, like with the popular C8 Corvette, GM is taking chances that there will be some irritated potential customers who might cancel their order for the product, however GM knows that there will always be new potential customers waiting for the product.
So is this a proper and ethical way to run a business….uh, no but then again when has that ever stopped GM from doing business in this world. It’s a game that everyone plays, and sometimes you can make money doing things this way, but usually, sooner or later the inevitable happens and, you’ve got some bad press coming your way for not being able to control the production of your product to waiting customers. Gee, this sounds awfully familiar doesn’t it?
Time to have a serious talk with parts vendors.
Waiting for a Corvette is nothing new I waited 8 months for a 2007 Z06. It was worth the wait! And I will wait again!
Having been the owner of a business that unfortunately had to depend on multiple vendors, both foreign and domestic, to ship product, it can be very frustrating on waiting on backlog deliveries. We can only estimate to tell our customers of expected time frame of delivery based on past experience. Well, that estimation turns into an ironclad agreement in the customers eyes! You can’t just fire all your vendors. This is an economy problem that affects all of us. Me being 73 years old I have never seen it this bad so, buckle up butter cup we are in for an E ride.
When you really think about it. It’s only a week.