The era of the C8 Chevrolet Corvette got off to a rocky start. First, there was the five-week-long UAW strike against GM. And then came the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, not every 2020 Corvette order can be fulfilled. To help settle down anxious buyers who missed out this year, Chevrolet decided not to increase the 2021 Vette's base price and those customers are now first in line. But there's still one very specific way Chevy can boost C8 production that it has yet to do: add a second production shift.

According to Corvette Blogger, the Bowling Green, Kentucky Corvette plant has just initiated that second shift. These second shift workers had been in training alongside their first shift colleagues for some time before the pandemic struck.

The factory shut down delayed their training. But now they're up and running, although not quite at full capacity because plant managers are still in final coordination with supply chain vendors to guarantee a steady flow of parts. Fortunately, these managers anticipated such a scenario months ago and decided to stock up on extra parts beforehand.

However, not all vendors are back to normal operating conditions and management isn't too wild about dipping into their extra parts supply just yet. It's best to give suppliers a bit more time because once those extra parts are used up, that's it.

The Corvette Assembly Plant can reportedly build 95 Corvettes per shift, but employees have been working especially hard lately by dedicating more hours to increase that figure to about 116 cars per day. Once the second shift fully comes online along with zero supply chain issues, at least 190 vehicles per day can be expected. Last May, Chevy confirmed a total of 20,181 Corvette orders had been received and the initial plan was to build 20,000 units before the 2021 model year.

Obviously that isn't happening now but the fact the second shift is now underway is a promising sign.