GM is facing 'enormous demand' for its 2020 C8 Corvette, and orders are so delayed some customers will get the 2021 model instead
- Deliveries of the 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette are disrupted because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
- "We are not going to build all of the 2020 orders," a General Motors spokesperson told the Detroit Free Press.
- Instead, GM will offer customers and dealers a 2021 option.
The 2020 C8 Corvette — the long-awaited, mid-engine one — is delayed yet again. Well, for some would-be owners.
Those who pre-ordered 2020 Corvettes might need to wait just a bit longer before taking delivery of their cars, reports the Detroit Free Press. Apparently, General Motors had to shut down its US plants for almost seven weeks because of disruptions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That, plus further complications with parts suppliers, means that resuming production of the car has become an unbelievably complicated process.
The outlet reports that these difficulties are preventing GM "from even guessing how many of the sports cars it will be able to build this year."
"We are not going to build all of the 2020 orders," Kevin Kelly, a GM spokesperson, confirmed to the Detroit Free Press. He said that the company would instead offer a 2021 option to customers and dealers affected by this.
"We've had an enormous demand for this vehicle and we had that work stoppage and we have suppliers trying to come up to speed too," Kelly said. "The plant is still coming up from COVID. We still haven't brought up the second shift yet, so we're still ramping up." He did not specify when GM would add that second shift.
There were 20,181 C8 Corvette orders through May 1, Kelly went on. GM sold only 3,820 examples during the first quarter of this year, with most of them being the new 2020 model.
This isn't the first time production of the mid-engine C8 has experienced delays. During the United Auto Workers union strike in 2019, the start of the Corvette's production was held up as well.
It's unfortunate that some buyers have to wait for 2021 models when they ordered 2020 models, but they are welcome to look at it this way: The world has been waiting for the mid-engine Corvette for literal decades. Now that it's finally, officially happening, what's another few months of waiting tacked on top?