C7 Chevy Corvette inventory slides to 5,000 as discounts pile up

Update 12/6: Reports from the end of November and beginning of December place C7 inventory to be around 5,000 cars. CorvetteBlogger found there to be 5,025 Corvettes (122-day supply) sitting on dealer lots a couple weeks ago, and that number is certainly even smaller today. As Chevy gears up to produce the C8, it has hit the pause button on C7 production

Discounts for the C7 continue to pile up, as well. Chevy is advertising the Z06 for almost $12,000 off the MSRP. Car and Driver reported deep price cuts on every other trim level of C7, too. Discounts are offered in a range of formats: dealer markdowns, employee pricing for everyone and Chevrolet corporate cash allowance incentives. Of course, the discount amount will vary greatly depending on the flavor of C7 you opt for and the dealership you walk into.

The Corvette decision is a tough one now with discounts nearing and around $10,000. A C7 is easy to buy, but the mid-engine C8 is just around the corner with production beginning in February. Buying a C8 around the start of production without a reservation could prove mighty difficult, though. Chevy has already touted its first-year reservation success, and we're sure Chevy dealers will try to rake in whatever "market adjustment" is possible. 

Update 7/24: The latest data from eInventoryNow.com was reported by CorvetteBlogger. There are now 6,025 C7 Corvettes sitting on dealer lots, which equates to an 84-day supply at summer sale rates. We've been treated to the reveal of the 2020 Chevy Corvette C8 since our previous update, so go check out the full details on that car, and see how it compares to some competitors.

Update 5/23: Corvette sales have predictably bounced back up after the cold, winter months. The original source now reports about 8,000 Corvettes are on dealer lots. The sports car is still down on sales compared to years past, but some of that can be contributed to the hype surrounding the new C8.

We also have confirmation of a reveal date for the mid-engine C8 Corvette now. An event will be held in California on July 18 this year to officially reveal the car. Until then, there are spy photos and rumors aplenty swirling about that we'll continue to track down.

The next-generation Chevy Corvette is coming. We don't know when and we don't know where the mid-engine C8 will finally make its debut, but we've been watching and waiting for years now. There was hope that the new model might debut at last month's Detroit Auto Show, but nothing came to pass. As much talk as there's been about the new model, we can't forget that the C7 is still in production at GM's factory in Kentucky. It seems production has far outpaced demand, as CorvetteBlogger reports that there are about 9,000 unsold cars sitting on dealer lots.

The data comes from eInventoryNow.com, a site that connects dealers to help move and trade unsold inventory. 9,000 cars equates to 232 days worth of inventory, a number calculated using the average daily sales over a 30-day period. That's more than any other GM product listed aside from the all-new Chevy Blazer. The number can fluctuate based on how well a car is selling (and Corvette sales could see a seasonal uptick after the winter months pass), but as it stands, there are more than seven months worth of Vettes sitting around on dealer lots. CorvetteBlogger says that nearly 180,000 C7s have been sold since the car went on sale in the summer of 2013.

There are a lot of reasons that dealers keep ordering a car that's sales are slowing. Allocation is one. If a dealer doesn't order enough C7s, it's likely to get fewer C8s. GM could also be padding numbers so there are cars available while the plant is retooled for the C8. Poking around the internet might reveal some pretty good deals.

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