C8 Corvette Allocations Cut Down for Most Dealerships
Production of the first-ever mid-engine Corvette to start around Feb. 3, sales determine final allocation for 2020.
The time is upon us at last. Decades of hype and hope, followed by months of waiting, have all come to this: the first of the all-new, eight-generation Corvettes to roll off the line in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Soon, they’ll be arriving at the National Corvette Museum, as well as every dealership selling Corvettes now.
While the biggest Corvette dealerships in the country will retain their allocations for the 2020 model year, most will see theirs cut-down. YouTuber Mike Davenport (a.k.a. Chevy Dude) is a dealer at Bachman Chevrolet in Louisville, Kentucky’s East End, and he has the inside info on what those cuts could mean for you if you already dropped a deposit.
“Let’s start with some exciting news, that production does start on February 3rd,” said Davenport. “Back in November, I had a couple of encounters with some higher-up people with General Motors. They were actually scared that production was gonna even take place in February. [I] don’t know what the concerns are why that was, but it does appear to be February 3rd is when production starts.”
Davenport adds there will be no production constraints on cars for the 2020 model year. Thanks to C8Forums.com, anyone who’s placed an order for a coupe or convertible Corvette with the dealership can push their order to 2000 status. The status means the General has accepted the order, and will soon begin to build it.
“[The] 2021 model year, that is set to start up on September 1st, 2020,” said Davenport, “[…] I got word about three weeks ago that we were gonna lose about 15 percent of our allocations. I asked why, and I was given a kind of mediocre answer. I had to do some investigating.”
Davenport found that with the strike back in fall of 2019, plus pre-production issues with the Corvette, have prompted GM to scale back a bit on allocations. While big dealerships like Kerbeck will be able to keep theirs, if not gain more, sales will determine allocations for everyone else for the 2020 model year. Thus, those who have begun the process of their order will want to talk to their dealer into pushing the order to 1100 status, which lets GM know someone wants a new ‘Vette.
“I think what’s happening is General Motors is going to see how many sold orders with a real name, real email address, and all that stuff, and they’re gonna fulfill those. And the dealerships who are maybe were charging over MSRP, maybe they have extra allocations that they haven’t sold yet, because they’re playing games, or they’re just a small dealership, and people didn’t know about them, if they’re gonna do stock units, they’re not gonna get picked up. They’re not gonna get built.”
Those Corvettes that are built, though, will be held for a six-week quality check, according to Davenport. After that, they’ll be on their way to their new owners, whether in Louisville, or anywhere else in the world.
Photos: Chevrolet
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