The 2021 model year for the Corvette has come to an end this week, with a final count of 26,216 vehicles. That’s a 28.7% increase from the 2020 model year, which was more affected by the start of the Covid-19 pandemic compared to this year. Corvette Production Manager Harlan Charles attended the National Corvette Museum’s 27th Anniversary Celebration last week and discussed the 2021 model year statistics during his seminar. This is ahead of the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly plant readying itself to build the 2022 model year C8 Corvette this week.
Most Popular 2021 Corvette Stingray Options
According to the final statistics for the 2021 model year posted by Corvette Blogger, 11,010 Corvette buyers chose the hardtop convertible model. The remaining 15,206 builds were configured as standard coupe, which allows visibility to the engine under the rear glass, and still has a removable targa top for open air enjoyment.
Despite the hardtop 2021 Corvette Convertible adding $7,500 to the price, the number of people opting for the model wasn’t surprising to Harlan Charles. Of those convertible models, 52% purchased the 3LT trim, 40% chose the 2LT, and 8% chose the base model. In contrast, 47% of Coupe buyers purchased the 2LT, with 33% opting for the 3LT and 20% selected the base model.
To really hit the stats home, sales numbers for the Corvette convertible haven’t been this high since 1969, and that’s thanks to the introduction of the hardtop convertible, which can raise or lower in only 16 seconds.
Image copyright Mattheus Pach, Muscle Cars & Trucks.## 2022 Corvette Production Begins This Week
The Bowling Green Assembly Plant manages to output 175 vehicles a day, and at their rate, they finished their 2021 model year production on September 8th. The assembly plant still faces limited supply issues, but they have been working uninterrupted for the past 13 weeks, and we hope things continue to smooth out for the 2022 Corvette. But supply chain is nevertheless under pressure, and it is affecting C8 Corvette sales. In fact, MC&T was once told by Tadge Juechter himself that Chevrolet could sell roughly triple the amount of mid-engined Corvettes if they could simply be built.
As a reminder, the C8 Corvette Z06 (teased below) will be a 2023 model year vehicle.
Image via Chevrolet.
