Chevrolet reportedly cutting 2020 Corvette production by 20%
The effects of the six-week-long United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against General Motors will linger for many months. Louisville Chevrolet salesman Mike Davenport has learned the company has slashed the number of eighth-generation Corvettes it will allocate to each dealership because it won't have time to build enough 2020 models.
"I got word about three weeks ago that we were going to lose about 15% of our allocations," Davenport revealed in a Corvette Forum post. After looking into the matter, he found out Chevrolet needs to reduce 2020 Corvette production by roughly 20% because of the working days it lost while the factory was closed due to the UAW strike, and to offset the time it spent tracking down internal issues with the car. Production of the 2021 model is scheduled to begin Sept. 1, and pushing that date back to manufacture more 2020s isn't an option.
Davenport pointed out the situation isn't as dire as it might sound. Chevrolet dealerships can earn extra allocations, and enthusiasts who ordered their Corvette from bigger stores across the nation have nothing to worry about, especially if they've given the sales department their full name and their email address. The stores who won't get all of their 2020 orders fulfilled are primarily the ones charging well over MSRP, or those trying to build up an inventory of unsold Corvettes. Chevrolet is prioritizing sold orders placed by individuals.
If you're waiting for a C8 Corvette, contact the dealer you bought it from to make sure it's on its way. "It's very important that you communicate with your dealer so you get your order in," Davenport summed up. Chevrolet will roll the 2020 orders it can't fill over to the 2021 model year; Corvette Forum pointed out the same thing happened when the seventh-generation car went on sale for the 2014 model year. The Corvette is widely expected to cost more in 2021, but executives might delay the increase until the plant fills every order placed for a 2020 model.
Chevrolet remains on track to begin producing the eighth-generation Corvette in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on February 3, though Davenport learned the first car might roll off the assembly line a few days earlier.
Officially, a GM spokesperson told Autoblog “We have had to make adjustments to our planned dealer allocations due to the work stoppage we experienced last year. We're not providing specifics on the level of adjustments.”
The first regular-production eighth-generation Corvette has already been spoken for. NASCAR team owner and car collector Rick Hendrick paid $3 million for VIN No. 001 during a recent auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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