It’s well known that GM has been striving to get younger buyers for decades now, but the numbers don’t seem to budge much. As the edgy and exotic-looking seventh-generation Corvette made its debut at the Detroit auto show, GM design head Ed Welburn stated the Stingray aims for “a bit of a shift to appeal to younger customers,” according to Automotive News. For a deeper dive into this dynamic during the C7 release, Autoweek did an insightful piece named “Five Reasons The New Corvette Will Stay An Old Man’s Car: Chevy’s Attempt To Get Gen X In A C7 Corvette Is Doomed To Fail”, and it’s available here.
Before we get into the encouraging demographics, here are some quick facts:
- Heading into 2014, the average Corvette buyer was 59 years old (per Strategic Vision).
- Many thought the revolutionary design of the C7 would help bring in the younger generation (and it did to some degree), but the average Corvette customer’s age in 2019 had still climbed to 61 years old.
- Heading into C8 production, individuals between 25 and 40 only accounted for 3% of sales.
- By early 2021, GM said the number of C8 Corvettes sold to Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) had doubled over the C7.
Here’s a word from Chet Baigh, the owner and admin of the largest C8 Facebook page, C8 Corvette Owners (And Friends), who just released this data on his 85,000+ members. Chet also happens to own one of the fastest-growing custom forged-wheel companies, Aerollari.
And now, the chart that’s sending some ripples through the community.
Here are the breakdowns:
- 13-17: 1.5%
- 18-24: 7.5%
- 25-34: 19%
- 35-44: 20.5%
- 45-54: 21%
- 55-64: 16.5%
- 65+: 14%
Notable Numbers:
- 48.5% of members are under 45 years of age
- 69.5% of members are under 55 years of age
- 30.5% of members are 55 or older
Sentiment From Chet’s C8 Community
Naturally, this is technically not “scientific data,” as it only gives a glimpse into this one community. The chart also only indicates membership to the group, which doesn’t necessarily translate to ownership. But despite some of these shortcomings, the data does give some great insights into the popularity of the eighth-generation Corvette with the younger demographics.
Will these numbers transfer to national numbers, or are they just an anomaly? Are these numbers encouraging for the Corvette brand, and will these younger enthusiasts help keep the iconic brand alive forever? We have the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 169,000 followers (50,000 since January 2023!). Come join other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello, Douglas B.
Here is the man believed to be the youngest C8 Corvette owner in the country; read the CorvSport feature here.
