Bradan Donaldson
Production constraints have been updated for 2021 Corvette production while the current semiconductor shortage is not a factor
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to take part in a Chevrolet local area marketing meeting to go over the current state of production and marketing for all of Chevrolet’s platforms including the Corvette. It was an interesting meeting in that it shed some light on how the semiconductor shortage is affecting many of Chevrolet’s platforms with the exception of the Corvette.
While Chevy Malibu, Equinox and Trax production continues to be impacted by the semiconductor shortage and the assembly plants responsible for production of those models remain closed through mid-April, Blazer and Colorado production is still progressing with shipments to dealers slowing to a crawl.
The Blazers and Colorados that can be built remain sitting at the factories awaiting a retrofit with the required semiconductors.
Right now, Chevy’s focus is on Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban production in order to meet the demand for those vehicles. Chevy is doing everything they can to divert products and attention to keeping those models rolling off the assembly line.
What about the Corvette?
While 2021 Corvette production has definitely seen its fair share of shutdowns, none of them have been due to the semiconductor shortage. Instead, the culprit has been supplier issues as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within the last month, production of the 2021 Corvette has been impacted primarily by Tremec which supplies the dual-clutch transmission for the Corvette. This week’s current shutdown is one such example.
We reached out to Tremec last week for comment, but as of this writing, we have yet to receive a response.
Many have asked if the shortage is due to issues with the transmission or shortage of internal parts. While the shortage is not due to transmission issues with the DCT, we cannot say for certain which parts of the transmission are in short supply. What we have heard in the last month is that the shortage is related to the manufacturing of the transmission case. This is purse hearsay until we hear more from Tremec or Chevrolet.
Corvette Constraints as of March 4, 2021
On February 17th, we published a constraint update showing that the visible carbon fiber grill insert, composite rockers and black trident wheels were all on constraint through April.
As of yesterday, the visible carbon fiber grill inserts and composite rockers remain on constraint with no allocation through April. However, it appears there may be good news for customers who have been waiting for the black trident wheels.
According to the most recent report, while there is no allocation for the Target Production Period listed, the National Allocation Quantity and Constraint Duration have been removed. “Not Constrained This Week” is listed in the comments section.
While 2021 Corvette orders that have LPO 5DF black trident wheels as part of their build will not receive those wheels, it appears that more of the black tridents may start making their way to dealers in order to fulfill orders that have already been built with that option.
End Date for 2021 Corvette Production
As we also reported in the last constraint update, production of Zeus Bronze Metallic, Sebring Orange Metallic and Shadow Gray Metallic will all be coming to an end starting Zeus Bronze being the first to end the week of June 14th. Shadow Gray Metallic will come to an end the week of July 19th.
This has led many to speculate that 2021 Corvette production will finish at the end of July, with 2022 production starting in August.
We know that one of GM’s main goals is to get the assembly plants back on a regular production schedule, however, supplier issues could still play a factor over the next few months continuing to throw a wrench in GM’s calendar. If that’s the case, 2021 Corvette production could get pushed into the middle or end of August with the start of 2022 production beginning after the Labor Day holiday.
Right now, official start and end dates for Corvette production have not been released by GM. We’ll continue to update our readers as more information becomes available to us.
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1 comment
why does gm not tell termec to stick it and get someone that can produce the tranny?