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News Recap: Assembly Plant Tours To Resume; New C8 Production Milestone

When will assembly plant tours resume, and for how long? What is our new production milestone, and how is E-Ray production coming along?

The E-Ray flies around VIR/Photo Credit: Michael Simari, Marc Urbano, C&D

I’m on all the notable Corvette forums and social media pages all day, every day, and I’ve done the legwork for you. Here are some compelling stories from the Corvette community, with concise, straight-to-the-point summaries for your busy lifestyle.

1) Bowling Green Assembly Plant Tours Resume For Museum’s 30th Anniversary Celebration

When I first saw this announcement, I thought, well, this is good news for the backlog of enthusiasts who have been itching to watch C8s get built. Then I quickly realized that the plant is only opening for one week, and not until the anniversary festivities begin on Thursday, August 29th. So, until then, the assembly line will be cloaked in secrecy due to what many believe is related to the 2025 ZR1 (click here for the CorvSport feature).

As many of you may recall, the Assembly Plant was closed for public tours on February 5th due to what the National Corvette Museum cited as “manufacturing advancements.” Here is the full statement:

Due to manufacturing advancements, tours offered by the National Corvette Museum of GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant will be suspended beginning Monday, February 5, 2024. At this time, there is no confirmed date for plant tour resumption. The National Corvette Museum will remain open to the public and continue regular operations. To reserve your spot through Friday, February 2, 2024, visit us online at corvettemuseum.org. As more information is made available, it will be shared by the National Corvette Museum.”

Notable Considerations:

  • Tour reservations are limited
  • Available for purchase May 15, 2024
  • Approximately 5,000 Corvettes are expected in Bowling Green during the anniversary week as part of the National Corvette Caravan for the 30th Celebration

 

Photo Credit: Corvette Blogger

Click Here For NCM 30th Anniversary Details

2) 2024 C8 Production Update; Total Units Surpass 20,000!

Despite dismal E-Ray production numbers, since customer cars started arriving at dealerships and in customers’ hands, even more eyes have been on the polarizing hybrid. Recently, CorvSport reported on the lackluster E-Ray performance at the iconic Lightning Lap (click here) and the viral story of a used-car dealership attempting to flip an E-Ray for $389,995.

But let’s get real. With just 149 E-Rays rolling off the assembly line, the true hero of Corvette production is the Stingray. The “entry-level” model accounts for 78% of total production, which just reached 20,388 C8s! This milestone can be credited to the dedicated assembly line workers at Bowling Green, who have set and broken the daily production record multiple times this year and have cranked off an impressive number of 200-plus production days.

The 200 Club:

  • January 26th: 228 (broke the record of 225 set in September 2023)
  • January 29th: 232
  • January 30th: 242 (another daily production record)
  • January 31st: 207
  • February 1st: 218
  • February 5th: 210
  • February 15th: 205
  • February 19th: 259 (the NEW daily production record!)
  • February 21st: 202
  • February 22nd: 205
  • February 26th: 211
  • February 27th: 204
  • February 28th: 211
  • March 1st: 203
  • March 4th: 205
  • March 5th: 203
  • March 7th: 213
Table courtesy of Roger Kiel via C8 Corvette Owners (And Friends) Facebook page

Total 2024 Corvette Production Numbers (as of 3/07/2024):

  • Stingrays: 15,894
  • Z06s: 4,345
  • E-Rays: 149 (up from 48 since 1/31)
  • TOTAL: 20,388

Keep up the good work!


I hope you have found this short but concise recap informative. If you want to keep up to date with all the fresh Corvette news and maintain a pulse on the lifestyle and culture of this exciting, iconic brand, CorvSport has the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 173,000 followers (54,000 since January 2023!). Come join other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello, Douglas B.

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