Good News! Corvette Convertible Won't Skip 2020 After All

May. 21, 2020 7:00 AM ET by Aaron Brzozowski Sports Cars / 4 Comments

C8 Convertible is now slated to enter production toward mid-July.

Despite fears that the new Chevrolet Corvette C8 Convertible might not make it to production in time for the 2020 model run, pushing customer orders out to the 2021 model year, it appears those fears may have been unfounded.

GM has faced an uphill battle in bringing the new 'Vette to market. First, there was last year's UAW strike in the US that forced plants across the country to shutter temporarily, delaying the start of production by several weeks. Then, just as production was finally ramping up and cars began making their way into customers' hands, the global coronavirus pandemic forced GM to press pause on its US manufacturing operations again.

As the nationwide manufacturing shutdown dragged on with no clear end in sight, many started to wonder whether GM might just roll all its 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible orders over into 2021, rather than attempt to bring the drop-top to market in such a climate.

But a recent post on the Corvette Forum claims that GM has decided to push back the start of 2021 Corvette production, extending 2020 production out through the end of October and giving its Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky ample time to start work on the convertible. According to the poster, 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible production will start toward the middle of July.

Of course, some difficulty still lies ahead. GM's Bowling Green plant won't begin reopening until May 26, at which point it will begin the slow, gradual process of ramping up production all over again, starting with a single shift before adding a second and maybe a third shift as warranted. As the health and safety of plant employees remains a key concern, measures such as maintaining extra space between workspaces and allowing extra time for sanitation will likely keep production further below capacity.

Still, that the Corvette Convertible will start production before the end of the 2020 model year is exciting news for the thousands of Chevy faithful who put in orders hoping to get their mid-engine sports cars sooner rather than later.