Chevrolet Corvette C8 Production Paused For A Week Due To Parts Shortage

Chevrolet has been producing the Corvette at its plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, since 1984 when the then-new Corvette C4 hit the assembly lines. The automaker, however, will have to pause production at the factory for about a week as it has been experiencing problems with the parts supply chain.

GM spokesman Dan Flores confirmed the information to Automotive News but didn’t provide additional details regarding the nature of the problem. However, Flores told the online publication the shortage “is not semiconductor chip-related.” In a different statement, GM spokesman Rachel Bagshaw said “our supply chain, manufacturing, and engineering teams are working closely with our supply base to mitigate any further impact on production to meet the strong demand for our products.”

The production was paused earlier this week and according to current estimations, it is expected to be resumed on Monday, February 27. The Kentucky plant currently has over 1,300 employees and builds the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Corvette Z06. It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t the first case of a production pause for the new Corvette as the same week-long interruption occurred in August last year “due to a temporary parts supply issue.” Another temporary closure of the production site was needed when a tornado caused a fire at Bowling Green Plant in December 2021.

Last year, General Motors produced a total of 25,831 Corvettes at its Kentucky plant, slightly down from 26,139 in 2021. In 2020, the first year of production for the Corvette C8, a total of 20,368 Corvettes were built at the factory. The eight-generation of the performance coupe is the first Corvette in history with a mid-engine layout. It shares less than 5 percent of its components with its predecessor.

2021 was especially challenging for the team assembling the Corvette as a few supply chain issues caused the assembly line to stop for several days. This is the first production pause at the plant for 2023, and with the current unstable global parts situation, more interruptions don’t seem unlikely at this point.