Editor’s Note: This feature will have timely E-Ray production updates (scroll down).
As the Bowling Green Assembly Plant ramps up E-Ray production, first and foremost this is a time for Corvette enthusiasts to celebrate, as this ground-breaking Hybrid gets one step closer to reaching customers’ hands. Now, I realize there are still many purists out there who have yet to warm up to the idea of anything but ole-fashioned cylinders and spark propelling their Corvettes, but this is the next step in the future for a fully electric Corvette. As the line goes, resistance is futile!
Initially, it was reported that E-Ray production for customer cars was to begin on 10/23/2023, and that date was pushed back multiple times (click here for a deeper dive into the delays). Before we get to the informative (and entertaining) videos, just how many customer cars have rolled off the assembly line as of 1/12/2024?
If you feel like 6 is a low number, especially compared to the healthy Stingray (9,954) and Z06 (2,789) numbers, you are not alone. The sentiment around social media echos those concerns, and our second video below from notable enthusiast and Youtuber Brink of Speed takes a deeper dive with his video named “GM Started Producing a Brand New Type of Corvette This Week!”
That E-Ray production number of just 6 will sound even lower when you disregard the 3 “special December units” that the co-founder of MidEngineCorvetteForum insinuates weren’t really “regular customer” cars.
Take a deeper dive here for the full forum discussion.
January 16, 2024 Update!
It looks like E-Ray production is getting some momentum, as we are now up to 16 units! Our go-to guy for these production charts, Roger Kiel, also appeared to make an adjustment to the 1/12/2024 numbers.
January 24, 2024 Update
We are now up to 44 E-Rays! And look at that day with 222 total units!
January 31, 2024 Update
While we are seeing some strong production numbers overall, you’ll notice there have been 5 days straight with ZERO E-Ray production, and we are sitting at just 48 total units.
February 29, 2024 Update
Featured Video
Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Pras Subramanian gets a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Bowling Green Assembly Plant and captures the very first retail 2024 E-Ray on the line, VIN 001. As you may recall, CorvSport covered this special VIN 001, purchased with fanfare for $1.15 million by Chevrolet dealer and NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick. And as always, the proceeds went to charity, this time the education focused “Donors Choose“.
There are many interesting parts to the video, but you definitely don’t want to miss the segment at 1:30, where GM’s General Assembly Future Product Lead Andrew Kelner goes into the nuances of adjusting production for an all-wheel-drive hybrid.
Video 2
Our friends at the Corvette Blogger talked directly with a Chevy representative this week, and this is what they report:
“He [the Rep] tells me that people aren’t exactly beating down his door to get one, and based on the comments that this post will surely generate here and on social media, it seems this may be one of the most misunderstood Corvettes ever to be produced.”
Mike, the enthusiast behind the Brink of Speed YouTube channel, does a deep dive and addresses this lackluster launch. His solution is one many of us agree with, which is that GM needs to get as many E-Rays out on the streets as possible, as fast as they can, to create even more hype and get enthusiasts talking.
Hopefully, the recent uptick in production will yield this necessary hype!
We’d love to hear your thoughts about the launch of customer car production for the E-Ray; with so many twists and turns it will surely be an interesting conversation! 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.
