The Chevy Corvette E-Ray was a significant step for the C8 generation of the Corvette. It’s the first hybrid Corvette and the first Corvette with all-wheel drive. Effectively replacing the Grand Sport in the Corvette lineup, it’s priced between the Stingray and the Z06, with Z06-like performance and Stingray-like fuel economy.
However, looking at auction results and sale prices of the Corvette E-Ray since its release, it appears that there simply isn’t very much demand for the hybrid Corvette on the secondary market. Seven E-Ray units have crossed the Mecum auction block since the Spring of 2024, and only one of them has had a successful sale. It was a convertible with the ZER Performance Package and nine miles on it, which sold for $151,250. Every other E-Ray on Mecum failed to meet reserve, and the most recent one only got a high bid of $85k.
Bring a Trailer Corvette E-Ray auctions
Five E-Rays have been offered on Bring a Trailer; two successfully sold, and three didn’t meet reserve. Of the ones that sold, a 3LZ convertible sold for $103k, and a ZER Coupe went for $96,000. Looking at Cars & Bids, two were offered in 2024, and neither met reserve. One exception to the emerging rule of subpar resale value for the Corvette E-Ray is a Seawolf Gray Tricoat 3LZ Coupe that sold at Barrett-Jackson’s 2025 Scottsdale event for $148,500.
Cars & Bids Corvette E-Ray auctions
Ever since the C8 was introduced for the 2020 model year, buyers who got one early in any given variant have been able to flip it for a quick buck on one of the online car auction sites. This has been true of the Stingray and Z06, and we expect it to be the case for the ZR1, but the E-Ray appears to be an exception. It’s still an expensive used car at around $100k, but its depreciation is unusual for a high-performance Corvette variant.
What is the reason for the C8 E-Ray’s underwhelming resale value? Are people who buy Corvettes just not interested in hybrids? Could it be reliability concerns? Does it have to do with the timing, given that the Z06 was already out and the ZR1 was on the way when the E-Ray dropped? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Comments
Here is the issue. The marketing was totally botched.
E ray sounds like an Environmentally favorable car. They also tried to sell it as a Hybrid and not as a added performance feature. They spent too much time selling silent mode to a group that likes to make noise.
Now on the ZR1X it is being sold as pure performance. They are not selling it as a green Corvette.
Now I expect due to the E ray being only 3% of production they will rename and remarket the E ray as a Grand Sport as it should have been. The good brakes, wide body and other ZRI goods but with the AWD added to the Base V8. That was what the old GS was and it sold better than most other models.
They need to stop the front drive being a Hybrid selling point and make it a pure performance selling point like it really is.
The reason for the front drive is more performance and it was cheaper and easier to add via EV drive than a mechanical drive. It is not to save the planet it is about 0-60 faster.
The bottom line is someone screwed up big on marketing on this as they miss judged the market and Corvette buyers.
Ferrari also is having issues selling electric too. These are not people that drive Prius.
Hybrids as they age in general will also find failure. The public hear about them and get excited as it s almost like owning a Tesla. But the truth is they are buying a ICE car with all the ICE care needed as well EV care needed. They spend more to buy it. They will spend more to service it. In the end they will have a bad battery and a car not worth the replacement batter and no resale. This will force the public in the end to reject this idea. We are already seeing some of this now.
My buddy had a Malibu Hybrid in and a bad battery after like 10-12 years. The car was not worth the cost of replacing the battery and the owner really has no way to really sell the car for much even if the body is in good shape.
Almost like enthusiasts want ICE and enjoy the soul of a V8 engine. Not EVs. The ERay is cool but, you cant beat the sound of a V8 weather its the normal Stingray or the z06.
Take notes GM, bring the Camaro V8 back.
The e-Ray does have a V8. The electric power train works in concert with the ICE to make it quicker and also enable the option of silent driving under 45 mph, for instance, if you don’t want to wake your neighbors up with your Vette at 6 a.m.
The problem is Corvette owners like to wake the neighbors. LOL!
You aren’t alone Camaro dude. Most of the people I’ve talked to about the E-Ray, even people at car meets/races, assumed it was an EV by the name.
IMHO, for a performance street car, an awd hybrid V8 (like the E-Ray) is ideal at the power levels these cars are at now. I’m hoping Ford gives us something similar with the upcoming Mustang GT500.
The Camaro is a totally different problem all together.
The Camaro needs to be a cheaper car and it has to sell in greater volumes. Low volumes drive up prices.
Just what do you give up to lower the costs and just what platform would you base it on since you only have the expensive Alpha.
Also in this day and age $30K buys not much car. $50K is average anymore.
Also a EV Camaro is suicide. No one wants that. Better to kill the car and save the name till they get this regulation deal worked out.
I’m a fan of the Camaro and the only way to make it cheaper is to bring a low cost RWD platform and even then can you still price it right with the V8. What other car of volume could share the cost since GM is all CUV now like most other brands.
The Camaro is just a formula that time and economics have passed by and what it was based on no longer exist.
They built a damn good car but the price hurts. Ford is also going to be faced with a decision on less they can find more volume as they are not making much on the volume they have and their high priced cars are not selling well enough to support the platform.
I’m not counting the GT3 car as it really is not a mustang or even built by Ford.
I think the way to do the Camaro is similar to the new Dodge Charger, but with a V8 option added (like Dodge will very likely end up doing now that Tavares is gone). A versatile platform that accepts a wide variety of powertrain options (4 cyl, V6, V8, EV, and hybrid) and also a 2 or 4 door configuration.
The real issue is the same as everything else in the economy, demographics, especially age demographics. Everything evolves around the Boomers and their wealth that they have had decades to build, but that’s going to have to change soon.
The trouble is that is still not cheap and weight will be a major issue.
We really need a mid sized RWD sedan to come back to feed a coupe but that is not happening.
The Ford plan to place a Mustang on an Explorer platform but again weight and cost.
There is no simple answer.
He’s right about demographics. Stop putting Vette and BW’s on a pedestal …country club cars, cliquish… I’ll stop there.
The “damn good car” Caddy tie-in made too many Camaro trims refined/boring, also undesirable from a long-term owning/wrenching angle.
It needs an F-body approach that’s made to include the RWD/AWD sedan and a smallish AWD 5-door. I’m glad you realize aiming to include up-segment to Explorer size is a trap.
I just searched my local area and found a TON, VERY low mile C8’s in the $60ks, even a 2022 with 10k miles for $59k. Wow! You couldn’t touch a C8 for under $100k in this area just a couple years ago. I don’t think this is E-Ray specific with people taking a huge haircut on resale.
Overpriced.
You can get a brand new C8 for 62-70k at Bomnin Chevrolet here in Miami.
Or if you are a GM Employee we get the discount on C8s now.
The expected price was to be about $85,000 as I recall. But it came in too close to the ZO6.
I think many of these E-Ray buyers were looking to make a profit on the re-sale or had the money to try it for a short period and then move on. If you want a C8 and do not have a desire for electric assist or not in an area that the AWD design would help in snow or slick road conditions, then the only advantage is the novelty or acceleration value. I think the engineering design is great but have no need for the AWD and the 0-60 value would only be important on extremely rare occasions hence, why? The cost approaches the Z06 level so why not a Z06 if you have the money and want to have the most bragging rights yet the ZR1 and now the ZR1X will dampen the Z06 advantage to some degree. There is more like no storage space but who cares when you only drive it to show and shines, etc.
The E-Ray is a better street car than a Z06 in a couple different ways. Not only is 0 to 60 better because of the much higher torque, the E-Ray also has far better passing power around town. Z06 owners have to face it. They are gas hogs. Fuel expense is not really my point. But most everyone likes to save a little money if they can. The E-Ray has a lot more range between fill-ups, making it easier/more convenient to use. Z06 is the best track car. But I know Z06 owners that wish that they had better fuel economy. I use my Corvette a lot more on the street than I do on a track – like most owners. So I would prefer e-ray if buying today.
There will come a time, much like the Edsel, when those Corvettes will be an oddity sold at huge discounts to anyone who can change the propulsion system. Used parts may become a hot commodity. We are seeing the early stages of the demise of EVs. At my age I want live to see the bitter end coming for fools and their money.
I believe people are realizing the E-Rays are very, Very, VERY complicated cars what with a huge number of digital controllers [ECMs] to handle the managing of both ends of this Corvette! Multiply that by a factor of X, pun intended, for the ZR1X with 2 turbos!
That, and given that 10 years after production ends we all know for both of these vehicles GM will stop production of the ECMs making these vehicles difficult to maintain.
The Z06 is the best bang for the buck, not ‘as’ complicated as either the E-Ray and ZR1X,
with ‘manageable’ power by the average Corvette enthusiast.
You make a really good point regarding the ECM availability, or lack thereof. If one goes bad on an older Corvette, there aren’t any in stock. Instead you have to enter a long queue for one to be rebuilt. Had my old 1993 Ruby in the garage for 6 months because of that just a few years ago.
I chose to order the 2025 Corvette E-Ray over the Z06 not because it is a hybrid, but because of its all-wheel-drive configuration. Prior to making my decision, I test-drove both models. The E-Ray demonstrated superior acceleration from 0 to 60 mph, offered more balanced handling with the all-wheel drive, and includes carbon ceramic brakes as standard—a feature that carries an $8,000 premium on the Z06.
2M6’s observation was accurate: marketing the E-Ray primarily as a hybrid was a misstep. For enthusiasts like myself, its performance attributes—particularly the AWD system—are far more compelling.
I am not concerned about resale value. Chevrolet recently unveiled the E-Ray’s successor, the ZR1X, which is being promoted as the highest-performing Corvette ever produced. I believe the combination of growing excitement around the ZR1X and the relatively limited production run of the E-Ray will, over time, enhance the E-Ray’s market value.
In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy driving my E-Ray—and perhaps, in the future, I’ll add its formidable sibling, the ZR1X, to my collection.
Yes the E ray is a very good car but it sends the wrong message via marketing and name.
Like the 280Z was renamed here as the Japan name was Fairlady. How well would that have sold to sports car enthusiast in America?
The rebranding and remarketing the car will turn things around.
I see the path forward as this.
ZR1X
Z06X will be added as a cheaper lower priced model.
Grand Sport X as a car with all the good but the base engine to be the lower priced AWD model. This will be the volume model They will give it the high down force package option with the name change.
I still think a Zora may be out there. The name is registered.
Think about this Zora was a real racer. 24 hours of Le Mans etc. racer. What better car to represent him than a true track car like a F40 or 911 GT3. I can see a discontented model coming and it will have all the performance bits but not much inside. Lighter panels on the car and get the weight down. Basically a street legal GT3 race car. That would fit Zora’s image better than a loaded up high HP car. That was not what he was about.
Chevrolet missed the opportunity to use the Zora name in 2020. Zora really worked on and pushed Chevrolet to make a mid-engine Corvette. So if Chevy wanted to use the Zora name, it should have been applied to either the first year C8s or the entire C8 series. Zora didn’t work on hybrids, so that doesn’t really fit.
I own and drive the closest thing to a Corvette E-ray: A Porsche Taycan 4S. All wheel drive, tons of power and huge acceleration. Awesome handling. Great styling.
…and, as every EV owner knows, lots of issues getting it charged. Battery longevity issues. Huge depreciation. Sports car looks and handling, yes. EV issues, yes as well.
I agree that, if it was sold as a performance variant of the Corvette with all-wheel-drive, it would sell better. If buyers were convinced GM wanted to continue to sell it and support it as an AWD ‘vette, that would also help. (As I write this, even this platform has an annoying “EVs will save the planet” video playing.) Keeping it the “E” ray, rather than the AWD Vette, reminds buyers of this question.
PLA
It’s nothing like a Taycan. The E-Ray has the same V8 found in the Stingray, plus a small elective motor driving the front wheels. It recharges by driving…not a plug in
The one that sold at Barrett-Jackson was probably a fluke. Those A-holes don’t drop the hammer until they get the price they want. No reserve my ass.
The eRay is a complicated machine. Like all EV vehicles, they have had their teething issues.
Since these vehicles sell in low numbers, and their HV batteries and front drive unit are unique to the Corvette, parts availability can be an issue.
The typical Corvette buyer may not be willing to make these sacrifices -yet.
I’m new to Corvettes owning a C8 Stingray. My previous car was an Audi TTS. I’m accustomed to AWD and my RWD Stingray has scared me on more than one occasion so the E-Ray has caught my interest ever since its debut. As someone else mentioned, the included ceramic brakes is an amazing value when GM stupidly makes it an expensive option for Z06. I do worry about resale value and future support so I also agree that in the long run the Z06 will be the more efficient option……minus the ceramic brakes.
One reason. Lack of wheel choices and they’re ugly.
I have a E Ray and try to sell, and most dealers or buyers won’t even bid on it, even with only 31 miles…. MSRP about $128,000 and the best offer I got was $100,000 …. I don’t have to sell it I have a 2021 and a 2019 So I’ll just wait someone will want it ….or not !
There are just too many versions and it’s a “small” leap to the next one. 6 figures for the eco Vette? Meh. Gimme the next one up.