Chevy Corvette Sales Decrease 20% January 2018
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 8,243
Likes: 4,615
From: Southwest Florida
Chevy Corvette Sales Decrease 20% January 2018
Chevy Corvette sales Decrease 20 uercent to 1,005 unitsiIn January 2018. Could be with model year 2019 due out soon people decide to wait?
Despite the drop the Corvette accounted for 63 percent of the performance car segment’s sales volume.
Read more here; http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/02/...-january-2018/
Despite the drop the Corvette accounted for 63 percent of the performance car segment’s sales volume.
Read more here; http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/02/...-january-2018/
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
While sales dropped 20% compared to January 2017, sales dropped 56% from the previous month (December 2017).
That would include left over 2017 and 2018 models.
That would include left over 2017 and 2018 models.
Last edited by Steve Garrett; Feb 5, 2018 at 09:22 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 10,461
Likes: 1,148
From: Wayne Township WI
It's Winter, half the country north of Mason-Dixon is under some degree of snow cover. Watch sales trend line steadily go up as March 1st passes, going higher in April/May maybe June. 
Now's really not the time for seeing meaningful trends in Corvette sales.
Corvette sales #s are predictable during Winter ranging from lousy to nonexistent, in some places.
Dealers/private sellers will both be looking to catch/meet the Spring wave of demand. Let's talk sales #s in April.
Now's really not the time for seeing meaningful trends in Corvette sales.
Corvette sales #s are predictable during Winter ranging from lousy to nonexistent, in some places.
Dealers/private sellers will both be looking to catch/meet the Spring wave of demand. Let's talk sales #s in April.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,474
Likes: 2,246
From: Southern NJ
Lot of differences compared to previous years.
1. Dealer inventory was lower than usual due to factory being closed.
2. Many people waiting for cars to be produced with body panels from new paint shop to avoid the issues from previous years.
3. We are approaching the end of the generation cycle which will most likely result in slower sales for 2018 while people wait to see what the C8 details are.
4. GM sales incentives were not as strong as previous months since inventory was diminished.
1. Dealer inventory was lower than usual due to factory being closed.
2. Many people waiting for cars to be produced with body panels from new paint shop to avoid the issues from previous years.
3. We are approaching the end of the generation cycle which will most likely result in slower sales for 2018 while people wait to see what the C8 details are.
4. GM sales incentives were not as strong as previous months since inventory was diminished.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 8,469
Likes: 907
From: Alaska
It's Winter, half the country north of Mason-Dixon is under some degree of snow cover. Watch sales trend line steadily go up as March 1st passes, going higher in April/May maybe June.
Now's really not the time for seeing meaningful trends in Corvette sales.
Corvette sales #s are predictable during Winter ranging from lousy to nonexistent, in some places.
Dealers/private sellers will both be looking to catch/meet the Spring wave of demand. Let's talk sales #s in April.
Now's really not the time for seeing meaningful trends in Corvette sales.
Corvette sales #s are predictable during Winter ranging from lousy to nonexistent, in some places.
Dealers/private sellers will both be looking to catch/meet the Spring wave of demand. Let's talk sales #s in April.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
In 2018, January fell between December and February, but last year it fell between June and August.
That explains why sales are so bad this January(2018). Next year January will fall between March and May, so sales should be good for January(2019).
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
I ordered one of those cars on Nov 12, and it won't be delivered until this week (Feb).
Last edited by Foosh; Feb 5, 2018 at 04:54 PM. Reason: Quote added due to intervening posts
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 8,469
Likes: 907
From: Alaska
So, we can’t compare Jan to Jan? This is another example of fuzzy math. If GM offered a 5k owner loyalty in Jan 18 and sales were up should we discount it as well?
Last edited by Snowwolfe; Feb 5, 2018 at 05:22 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
Normally you can when all year-over-year monthly variables are held roughly constant, which they traditionally are. You still can if you wish to draw erroneous conclusions about the significance of the numbers. Name another Corvette production cycle when the MY changeover began in January shortly after the plant had been shut down for 4 months.
About 9K 2018 C7s were produced in total compared to all other MYs where 35-40K were produced. Roughly half were built and painted in the old plant, and the other half were built and painted in the new plant starting in mid-November after the 4-month shutdown.
If there had been a 5K loyalty discount, quite likely January to January numbers would have looked more normal, except there wasn't much stock for sale. New plant '18s were only beginning to show up in Jan.
It would be like comparing vacation bookings in a Caribbean resort during a Cat 5 hurricane month vs. the previous year when the weather in the same month was perfect.
About 9K 2018 C7s were produced in total compared to all other MYs where 35-40K were produced. Roughly half were built and painted in the old plant, and the other half were built and painted in the new plant starting in mid-November after the 4-month shutdown.
If there had been a 5K loyalty discount, quite likely January to January numbers would have looked more normal, except there wasn't much stock for sale. New plant '18s were only beginning to show up in Jan.
It would be like comparing vacation bookings in a Caribbean resort during a Cat 5 hurricane month vs. the previous year when the weather in the same month was perfect.
Last edited by Foosh; Feb 5, 2018 at 05:45 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
Of course we can. We are talking retail sales not Bowling Green production. Loads of left over 2017's and new 2018 cars sitting on dealer's lots last month. That's why they are discounted so much. The dealers want to get them off their lot. If there had been a shortage of cars to sell, then GM and the dealers wouldn't be giving them away.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
That's just not true, Joe. Looking at Criswell alone, which normally has 200+ cars on the lot, and they are down to 49 now as we speak. The situation is similar at Kerbeck and MacMulkin.
In stock is a function of both production and sales. Production has been cut in half since the plant re-opened, logically being ramped up slowly with a totally new production process, and the stock was heavily depleted by Nov and Dec deep discounts on all cars after 4 months of zero production.
Yes, there are still some deep discounts available (based upon financing with GMF, or "flex cash," formerly "red tag," used by dealers on a few stagnant cars), but not much to choose from, and only on cars which haven't moved in a long time. The 18's on lots are old plant cars built early last summer before the long shut-down. I'm told the majority of the new plant cars coming in now are sold orders.
In stock is a function of both production and sales. Production has been cut in half since the plant re-opened, logically being ramped up slowly with a totally new production process, and the stock was heavily depleted by Nov and Dec deep discounts on all cars after 4 months of zero production.
Yes, there are still some deep discounts available (based upon financing with GMF, or "flex cash," formerly "red tag," used by dealers on a few stagnant cars), but not much to choose from, and only on cars which haven't moved in a long time. The 18's on lots are old plant cars built early last summer before the long shut-down. I'm told the majority of the new plant cars coming in now are sold orders.
Last edited by Foosh; Feb 5, 2018 at 06:24 PM.
Cruising
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 11
Likes: 6
From: Michigan
As mentioned in previous posts the Bowling Green plant was shut down for four months during the second half of 2017. The drop in sales comparison from Jan 2017 vs Jan 2018 was approximately 260 Corvettes. A little more than one months production.
GM also committed after Q2 to reduce total inventory by 2017 year end, which had exceeded 100 day supply. January 1 2018 GM light vehicle inventory supply was down 40% to 63 days.
For Corvette the focus was eliminating 2017 inventory in Q4. November 2017 Corvette sales were up 620 Corvettes vs November 2016 mainly due to heavy incentives.
Drifting
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,547
Likes: 210
From: Huntersville, NC
I bought a 2017 WGG Z51 with 2LT, PDR, and mag ride in early December. I shopped all the big forum vendors and got pretty much the same answer. What is left in dealer inventory is mostly plain-jane 1LT's. It was tough to find just what I wanted. The BFV's all offered to order a '19, but the discount/incentives weren't quite as good, as noted by previous posters.
Today's market correction will also have a small impact on late winter/early spring sales. I sold off some of my IRA when the market was high (wow first time to hit near the peak !!!!!) to pay cash for the car. Hopefully, this correction will cause big daddy GM to hit the incentive button again.
I like buying from the BFV's no BS and what you see is what you get. All the ones I didn't buy from sent a nice followup email, "thanks for considering us, think about us next time"
Today's market correction will also have a small impact on late winter/early spring sales. I sold off some of my IRA when the market was high (wow first time to hit near the peak !!!!!) to pay cash for the car. Hopefully, this correction will cause big daddy GM to hit the incentive button again.
I like buying from the BFV's no BS and what you see is what you get. All the ones I didn't buy from sent a nice followup email, "thanks for considering us, think about us next time"
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 16,066
Likes: 4,148
From: Bergen county NJ
The entire segment of relatively expensive two seat sports cars has dropped 21.3 percent...
Porsche did ok though with the 911 boxster and cayman...
http://press.porsche.com/news/release.php?id=1061
The rest of the market was weak.
Porsche did ok though with the 911 boxster and cayman...
http://press.porsche.com/news/release.php?id=1061
The rest of the market was weak.
Last edited by JerriVette; Feb 5, 2018 at 07:44 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 17,755
Likes: 3,688
From: The Sunshine State
2022 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2021 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
Finalist 2020 C7 of the Year -- Modified
2020 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
C5 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
2018 C5 of Year Finalist
So, based on this not being a traditional year in terms of production, when would be a good time to order a 2019? My target Z06 build will probably require an order as I have not been able to find an exact build example on dealer lots.
Platinum Supporting Dealership
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,488
Likes: 4,122
From: Nashua NH
That's just not true, Joe. Looking at Criswell alone, which normally has 200+ cars on the lot, and they are down to 49 now as we speak. The situation is similar at Kerbeck and MacMulkin.
In stock is a function of both production and sales. Production has been cut in half since the plant re-opened, logically being ramped up slowly with a totally new production process, and the stock was heavily depleted by Nov and Dec deep discounts on all cars after 4 months of zero production.
Yes, there are still some deep discounts available (based upon financing with GMF, or "flex cash," formerly "red tag," used by dealers on a few stagnant cars), but not much to choose from, and only on cars which haven't moved in a long time. The 18's on lots are old plant cars built early last summer before the long shut-down. I'm told the majority of the new plant cars coming in now are sold orders.
In stock is a function of both production and sales. Production has been cut in half since the plant re-opened, logically being ramped up slowly with a totally new production process, and the stock was heavily depleted by Nov and Dec deep discounts on all cars after 4 months of zero production.
Yes, there are still some deep discounts available (based upon financing with GMF, or "flex cash," formerly "red tag," used by dealers on a few stagnant cars), but not much to choose from, and only on cars which haven't moved in a long time. The 18's on lots are old plant cars built early last summer before the long shut-down. I'm told the majority of the new plant cars coming in now are sold orders.
Last edited by MacMulkin; Feb 5, 2018 at 09:31 PM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 8,243
Likes: 4,615
From: Southwest Florida
Boy, are you misinformed. January is a floater month. Always has been.
In 2018, January fell between December and February, but last year it fell between June and August.
That explains why sales are so bad this January(2018). Next year January will fall between March and May, so sales should be good for January(2019).
In 2018, January fell between December and February, but last year it fell between June and August.
That explains why sales are so bad this January(2018). Next year January will fall between March and May, so sales should be good for January(2019).
Last edited by Maxie2U; Feb 5, 2018 at 09:34 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, and they are great deals. But, that was one of the points that I and others were making above.
I did see a couple of VINs for "new" 18's on your site at 12% off. In order to get exactly the car I wanted, I special-ordered one of the "new plant" 18's and received about that same discount from another forum dealer. You did beat my special order discount on a by about 1% on your new 18 in-stock units.
Last edited by Foosh; Feb 6, 2018 at 12:22 AM.