Will the Chevrolet Price Increase Impact Sales of the C8 Corvette?
Editor’s note: This article was updated on 6/13/2023.
For those of you hoping to scoop up a 2021 Chevrolet Corvette, you better re-write that check. Chevrolet just increased the price of each of the available 2021 C8 Corvette models. Based on the sales from the 2020 models, will this impact sales going forward in 2021? It should be noted that the last day to order these cars is June 17, so get to the bank if you have been procrastinating!
What are Corvette prices with the new increase?
Most people ordering the 2021 Corvettes probably aren’t scared of an extra thousand dollars on the bill. However, when the car was introduced in 2019, part of the appeal was the under $60,000 price tag. According to Motor 1, that price is officially out the window.
As of March 1, the 1LT model is just above $60,000. The 2LT is starting at $66,000, and the 3LT is just below $80,000. But don’t worry, if your order is already in, you won’t be hit with the price increase. A Chevrolet spokesperson told Motor1:
“The MSRP of the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupe and convertible at all trim levels will increase by $1,000 beginning March 1. Customers who have event code 1100 sold orders and beyond by March 2 will not be impacted by the price increase on the 2021 Corvette Stingray.”
It isn’t out of the ordinary for prices to increase at this point, especially since they seem to be harder to produce. When the C8 was introduced, the under $60,000 price point was a headline-grabbing feature. Now, not so much.
How many of each 2020 Corvette trim sold?
According to the statistics provided by The National Corvette Museum, most of the models sold were the 2LT and 3LT models. For both the coupe and convertible 1LT option, 2,946 cars were sold. For the coupe and convertible 2LT, 7,966 cars were sold. And for both trims on the 3LT, 9,456 2020 models sold. That’s a total of 20,368 2020 Corvettes sold.
Of these, only 283 1LT, 1,281 2LT models, and 2,017 3LT models were convertibles. That’s less than 20% of all the produced C8 Corvettes.
So, for those worried about the $1,000 increase: don’t be. An extra one thousand dollars isn’t going to discourage people from buying. It just means the “under $60k” talking point is no longer valid.
Are new Chevy cars being delivered yet?
Chevrolet has already had trouble keeping up with the Corvette demand, producing only half of the 40,000 promised vehicles last year. In addition to that, the price increase is being met with a factory shutdown.
The Bowling Green, Kentucky plant is shutting down from March 1 through March 5. Presumably, this is due to COVID-19 supply chain issues that have plagued the production plant. Production should resume the following week. With another week off, production should come back strong for the second week of March. As long as they can get the required parts, that is.
