2021 Corvette Orders Close Three Months Earlier than Planned

Corvette order banks closed on March 26 rather than in mid-June due to C8 popularity.

It is an understatement to say that the dealership rollout of the C8 Chevrolet Corvette has gone pretty poorly. At first, a labor dispute slowed the first phases of production and as soon as the company got underway with production plans, the Covid 19 pandemic essentially locked up the industry and caused more Corvette production delays. As a result, many of those folks who ordered a 2020 C8 waited much longer than they had expected and some customers who ordered cars for 2020 didn’t get them at all. Some dealerships sold cars for which they did not have allocations and that has continued into the 2021 model year ordered process.

Well, it seems that General Motors wants to get caught up with the orders already in hand, as the company decided to close the order banks for the 2021 Corvette very early. According to Corvette Blogger, a memo was sent to dealerships informing them that new sold orders for the 2021 Corvette would no longer be accepted after March 26. It was expected that the order bank for the 2021 Corvette would close in mid-June, so the company opted to pull the plug in 2021 C8 orders nearly three months in advance.

The Dealer Memo

Below you will find the contents of the memo from General Motors to Chevrolet dealerships as shared by Corvette Blogger.

“Due to continued overwhelming response to the 2021 Corvette and to avoid false customer expectations, it will be necessary to suspend the ability to create a sold order (SRE) beginning March 26, 2021. This does not prevent you from processing existing sold orders (SRE) within allocation, nor creating and processing a normal stock order (TRE). Unplanned downtime has impacted the overall 2021 Model Year Corvette production schedule. We are suspending SRE’s now in an effort to avoid cancelling orders that will not be built within the current schedule and disappointing customers in the process. We anticipate you will be able to submit orders for 2022MY Corvettes in early July.”

As you likely know, a global semiconductor shortage is currently hammering the entire auto industry, leading to unplanned production stoppages for just about every automaker around the world. Unfortunately, the Corvette is included in that long list, so once again, production of the C8 is being disrupted and there is little that GM can do about it. It seems likely that GM will extend production of the 2021 model year Corvette in order to fulfil the orders already received and to make sure that they don’t accept orders for more cars than they can build before the 2022 changeover, the company has wisely stopped accepting new orders.

Ordering a 2022 Corvette

If you missed out on a 2020 Corvette and you had planned to order a 2021 in the next few months, you are pretty much out of luck at this point. You can search dealership inventories around the country, find cars that meet your tastes and try to see which dealership has the smallest markups, or you can pay top dollar to buy a 2020 or 2021 used.

The better option right now is to talk to a salesperson at your local Chevy dealership about ordering a 2022 Corvette. The memo states that the company will officially begin taking orders for the 2022 model year in July, so it might be a good idea to talk to a salesperson about right away about ordering a car for the next model year. That will likely lead to the best chances of getting your ideal C8 Corvette without a big upcharge.

Photos: Chevrolet

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com