LIE2ME

At Carlisle this year I ran into a Corvette enthusiast from Australia. He drives a C3 back home and commented that he and a good number of the people in the Australian Corvette Club would be driving later model Corvettes if they had been available from the factory with right hand drive. Apparently, Australian law dictates that past a certain year, cars sold "down under" must be right hand drive. There are companies that modify left hand drive cars to right hand drive, but the cost is outrageous ($50,000.00+)!!!!

Then I asked him the magic question. Did he know if Chevrolet was planning a production right hand drive C7? He replied that Australian Corvette lovers have already been told they would once again be denied a production right hand drive Corvette.

This seems strange to me considering the declared intent by GM to make the new Corvette truly a "world car". I know that production numbers drive manufacturing decisions, but a good part of the world is right hand drive. Frankly, if this is true, it would seem to severely undermine GM's stated "world car" goal.

Does anyone know anything about a future right hand drive Corvette?

RicK T

I remember one of the video interviews back in Jan-Feb the subject came up and whoever was being interviewed from GM said no right hand drive C7 planned.

rcallen484

That is how I remember it also. What side of the road do they drive on in China and India?

TX-OU812

A few years back I spent some time in China. In Hong Kong they drive on the left side of the road (up until 1999 Hong Kong was under British rule). But on the China mainland they drive on the right side of the road. So GM should be able to sell a bunch of C7s in China.

I have no idea which side of the road they drive on in India.

rcallen484

If it is actually possible to penetrate that market....... and then India is, of course, 2nd most populous nation on earth. Australia is for sure cool and all, and definitely a part of the globe, but in market terms....

TX-OU812

To me it is foolish for GM not to offer right hand drive vehicles. But then would you expect Government Motors to get it right?

rcallen484

Maybe:

"General Motors Company, commonly known as GM, is an American multinational holding corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan that, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts and sells financial services. General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries under eleven brands, including Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun, Holden, Isuzu, Jie Fang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling.[5][6] General Motors employs 212,000 people and does business in 157 countries.[1] General Motors is divided into five business segments: GM North America (GMNA), GM Europe (GME), GM International Operations (GMIO), GM South America (GMSA), and GM Financial.[4](pp12, 13)

General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, and is currently among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales[7]

General Motors acts in most countries outside the USA via wholly owned subsidiaries, but operates in China through 10 joint ventures.[4]:pp.18, 96 GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services.

In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn and Pontiac, and emerged from a government backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, GM made an initial public offering that was one of the world's top 5 largest IPOs to date and returned to profitability later that year."

RussM05

I lived quite a few years in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia and worked in many other countries.

China is left hand drive, so yes, that is a potential market for the Corvette. In 1994 I saw a Gen 1 ZR1 and regular Corvette parked at a hotel, but never saw any after that.

Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia are right hand drive. I did see a few right-hand drive converted Corvettes in Hong Kong, but the roads are so tight and crowded there, it doesn't make much sense to own one. Gas is really expensive, too.

Malaysia only had a few licensed Corvettes (6 I recall), but I never saw one. I doubt there are any in Singapore due to the extraordinary high road tax rules. Only the very, very rich could affort one so those people would just as soon buy a Lambo or Ferrari at those prices.

Many of these countries have unbelievably tough import regulations and high import duties, annual road taxes (license), and other legal barriers geared specifically to discourage the import of large displacement vehicles. I remember telling co-workers in Singapore I owned a 5.7 liter car and they could't comprehend since anything over 3 liters was way beyond their budget.

In China, their manufacturing laws are designed to create local manufacturing companies or Joint Ventures, which GM and everybody else has a few there. I did drive a few times in China and that could be a good market at some point in the not too distant future as income grows and the youth fall in love with it. The roads around major cities are great. When I was last there, all they cared about was the price and if it had 4 wheels.

I did visit India a few times and think its right hand drive like all the British colonies. India....well, you can forget about selling them there. Import red tape will kill any attempt to market it there.

RussM05

Apparently, you are not aware of the facts regarding GM shareholders.

~25% of GM shares are owned by the Government. The BOD has 14 members with only 1 with a Federal Government background.

All the other BOD members are car people or independent business people.

The Corvette engineers met with the Treasury department when GM was going through chapter 11, the message was they wanted to show the world that GM could create a world-class car, which I believe they did.

VP Joe Biden is a Corvette owner, too.

Do us all a favor, and drop the "Government Motors" stuff. All the new cars since GM emerged from chapter 11 have received great reviews.

C7 BOB

Remember, the C7 has the whole interior designed with a driver's cockpit on the left. They can't just move the steering wheel and pedals. They actually tried with the C5, and found it cost prohibitive for the small numbers that would be sold.

Shaka

The British commonwealth drives on the left side of the road except Canada. Hong Kong still does as do the British Caribbean including the Bahamas. There is a company in South Africa and Australia that perform these $30 000 conversions on Vettes.
Volumes don't justify investment in RHD for the Vette. Most right hand drive German cars are manufactured in South Africa.
Cadillac CTS cars are available in RHD. All Cadillacs will be available in RHD starting next year. Cadillacs have been available in RHD since they began production.