Production of the Corvette C8 has been riddled with starts and stops due to COVID-19 interrupting the supply chain. Now, it looks like we’re seeing yet another round of delays.
The initial report came on corvetteforum, where one user shared an email he received about a delayed completion. It read:
I just received this from Shane at the NCM:BGAP (Bowling Green Assembly Plant) has just announced a suspension of production for the week of 2/1 due to supply chain issues. Due to recent delays and this shutdown, the new anticipated completion date of your car is 2/12. If your previously scheduled tentative appointment does not fall at least 2 weeks beyond this date, we will need to reschedule.
Other users in the forum shared similar delay times.
The NCM referred to here is the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. It features a special delivery option: for an extra $1,000, you can pick up your new C8 at the museum, where you’ll also be given a tour, a personalized plaque for your dash, and a one-on-one presentation explaining everything about your car. (As a sidenote, that seems like it must be, arguably, the coolest way to take delivery of a new car.)
Chevrolet confirmed the bad news to CorvetteBlogger: the Bowling Green plant will be shut down from February 1, 2021 to February 8, 2021
The full statement from Chevy read:
Due to a temporary parts supply issue, we can confirm that Bowling Green Assembly will not run production the week of February 1. Our supply chain, manufacturing and engineering teams are working closely with our supply base to mitigate any further impact on production, and we expect the plant to resume normal operations on Monday, February 8.
This is the unfortunate reality for a lot of automakers in the middle of this pandemic. The Bowling Green plant was shut down for two months early in 2020 due to COVID-19 before experiencing another two-day shutdown in November when parts suppliers in Mexico were struggling to get those supplies to the plant on time.