High demand and parts shortages are going to mean a longer wait.
Automotive supply chain issues and parts shortages continue to go from bad to worse. Recently, the Corvette assembly line ground to a halt but now the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and Z06 Convertible orders have been stopped for the rest of 2022. Buyers knew that the American supercar would be a challenge to obtain, but part of us remained optimistic that supplier issues would be sorted and real Corvette enthusiasts could buy them and not flip them for massive profits.
However, Chevrolet has put the brakes on what could possibly be the best performance car deal on the market today. A modest $106,395 for a 670 horsepower, naturally-aspirated, flat-plane crank V8 supercar? Obviously, the demand for the Z06 would be massive, and it seems Chevrolet was unprepared for the wave of orders and production challenges.
The production of the 2023 Corvette Z06 this month at GM's Bowling Green, Kentucky plant was already off to a rocky start since the plant was halted until September 5th.
Now, all orders for the 2023 Z06 have closed until the new year as well. The actual number of Corvette Z06 units set to come out of the Bowling Green plant is going to be affected greatly as Chevrolet indicated in a statement to its dealers,
"We're going to have a gradual production ramp up for Z06 as there is way too much on the line here," the Chevrolet statement reads. "We're going to stop taking orders for the balance of the year. We're not building as many Z06s as we would like to right now, We plan to sell more of this generation of Corvette than any other generation in our history, and that includes a high percentage of Z06."
Unexpected supply chain shortages will affect the Corvette Z06 production as they did with the high-demand Hummer EV. There were also nearly 100,000 unfinished GM vehicles sitting in lots earlier this year. The possibility of these 2023 model year Z06 orders being pushed back to the 2024 model year run is now quite real.
The 2023 Corvette Z06 orders that have squeezed through had even further constraints. The outstanding Z07 Performance Package adds more insanity for aerodynamics on track, but its carbon fiber aero bits have not been available. There is also the 70th Anniversary Package that has been in seriously short supply.
Even getting to that stage of the Z06 ordering process can be a challenge. Not every Chevrolet dealer is going to get allocations. The lucky 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 dealers will be considered based on 2020, 2021, and 2022 Corvette Stingray 3LT sales numbers. The Z06 units that do get through will be subject to massive markups, some as high as $90,000 adjusted dealer markup.
If you were one of the lucky ones that got an order in early, you may still get your car on time, but if you were on the tail-end of the 2023 orders, you may be in for a long wait.
Chevrolet previously faced similar issues when the C8 Corvette first debuted and had to change a number of orders from 2020 models to 2021 models as a result. While this usually causes no issues aside from a delay in when you get your car, some knock-on effects can include annual changes in spec, including changing color palettes. Here's hoping Chevrolet can mitigate these frustrations as much as possible.
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