Chevy Corvette sales increased in the United States while decreasing in Canada and Mexico during the first quarter of 2021.
Chevrolet Corvette Sales - Q1 2021 - United States
In the United States, Chevrolet Corvette deliveries totaled 6,611 units in Q1 2021, an increase of about 73 percent compared to 3,820 units sold in Q1 2020.
Chevrolet Corvette Sales - Q1 2021 - Canada
In Canada, Chevrolet Corvette deliveries totaled 281 units in Q1 2021, a decrease of about 2 percent compared to 288 units sold in Q1 2020.
Chevrolet Corvette Sales - Q1 2021 - Mexico
In Mexico, Chevrolet Corvette deliveries totaled 36 units in Q1 2021, an increase of about 140 percent compared to 15 units sold in Q1 2020.
Competition Sales Comparison (USA)
The healthy double-digit jump in Chevy Corvette sales in the U.S. during Q1 2021 enabled the perennial sports car to remain the best-selling model in its class. In fact, the Corvette outsold all other rivals combined, including the Porsche 911, Porsche 718 (née Cayman/Boxster), Mercedes-AMG GT, Mercedes-Benz SL, Mercedes-Benz SLC, Audi R8 (see running Audi R8 sales), Nissan GT-R, Ford GT (see running Ford GT sales), Acura NSX and BMW i8.
Sales Numbers - Premium Sports Cars - Q1 2021 - USA
The performance represents an improvement over the similarly-impressive figures in Q3 2020 as well as Q4 2020. During both quarters, the Corvette accounted for over 50 percent segment share. However, as we typically note, most contenders in this segment cost significantly more than the Corvette and naturally see lower sales volumes as a result.
Corvette managed to grow its segment share to 51 percent from 43 percent a year ago. The second-place Porsche 911 – the most cross-shopped rival with the C8 – accounted for roughly a third as many sales with 22 percent segment share, down from 29 percent in the year-ago quarter. The Porsche 718 line, comprised of the 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster, followed in third place with a 12 percent segment share, up from 4 percent a year ago. The Porsches were followed by a trio of Mercedes models with 9, 2, and 2 percent share each. All other models, including the Audi R8, Nissan GT-R, Ford GT, Acura NSX, and BMW i8, each saw a segment share of 1 percent or less.
The premium sports car segment expanded an average of nearly 44 percent to 12,876 units in Q1 2021, meaning that Corvette sales outpaced the segment roughly two-fold.
The GM Authority Take
The substantial growth in Chevy Corvette sales during the first quarter of 2021 continues to be welcome news, since the last-generation model – the Corvette C7 – has been out of production since November 2019, while the launch of the new-generation 2020 Corvette C8 got off to quite a rocky start.
First, production was delayed due to the UAW strike toward the end of the 2019 calendar year. Then, once production commenced, it was paused shortly thereafter due to the coronavirus outbreak, preventing GM from building enough units to generate any substantial sales volumes or fulfilling reservations and orders. Specifically, the Corvette C8 began arriving at dealers in limited quantities in March and the COVID-19 pandemic caused production to be idled about a week thereafter, with less than 3,000 units of the C8 produced.
C8 production started back up in mid-May 2020, but very few units actually ended up making it to dealerships and into customers’ hands by the time the second quarter of 2020 ended. This combination of events, combined with substantial pent-up demand, enabled the Corvette to post such impressive sales figures for Q1 2021, along with the final two quarters of 2020.
With interest in the new mid-engine Corvette at an all-time high, most C8 Corvette buyers being new to the Chevy brand, and transaction prices at all-time highs, we expect Chevy Corvette sales to continue increasing in a steady fashion, so long as production continues uninterrupted at the GM Bowling Green plant that assembles the vehicle, and at the GM Tonawanda Engine plant, which assembles the 6.2L V8 LT2 engine used in the C8 Stingray. As of this writing, C8 production is holding steady at 186 cars per day.
Better still, the Corvette C8 success story has just begun, given that all other high-performance variants are still in the works – including the C8 Z06, C8 E-Ray, C8 ZR1 and C8 Zora. Once these models launch over the next couple of years, we expect Corvette sales to further improve their dominance over the competition.
About The Numbers
All percent change figures compared to Chevy Corvette sales for Q1 2020, unless noted otherwise
There were 74 selling days in Q1 2021 and 76 selling days in Q1 2020
Corvette sales figures include all Corvette body styles, variants, trim levels and packages
Sales figures for Lotus, Jaguar and Maserati not available as those manufacturers do not break out information on a model basis
2020 Chevy Corvette Photos
GM Q1 2021 sales reports:
GM Q1 2021 sales U.S.A.
Chevrolet sales Q1 2021 U.S.A.
Cadillac sales Q1 2021 U.S.A.
Buick sales Q1 2021 U.S.A.
GMC sales Q1 2021 U.S.A.
GM Canada sales Q1 2021
Chevrolet Canada sales Q1 2021
Cadillac Canada sales Q1 2021
Buick Canada sales Q1 2021
GMC Canada sales Q1 2021
GM Mexico sales Q1 2021
GM Mexico sales January 2021
Chevrolet Mexico January 2021 sales
Buick Mexico January 2021 sales
GMC Mexico January 2021 sales
Cadillac Mexico January 2021 sales
GM Mexico sales February 2021
Chevrolet Mexico February 2021 sales
Buick Mexico February 2021 sales
GMC Mexico February 2021 sales
Cadillac Mexico February 2021 sales
GM Mexico sales March 2021
Chevrolet Mexico March 2021 sales
Buick Mexico March 2021 sales
GMC Mexico March 2021 sales
Cadillac Mexico March 2021 sales
GM China sales Q1 2021
Chevrolet China Q1 2021 sales
Buick China Q1 2021 sales
Cadillac China Q1 2021 sales
GM Brazil sales Q1 2021
Chevrolet Brazil January 2021 sales
Chevrolet Brazil February 2021 sales
Chevrolet Brazil March 2021 sales
GM Argentina sales Q1 2021
Chevrolet Argentina January 2021 sales
Chevrolet Argentina February 2021 sales
Chevrolet Argentina March 2021 sales
GM South Korea sales Q1 2021
GM South Korea January 2021 sales
Chevrolet South Korea January 2021 sales
Cadillac South Korea January 2021 sales
GM South Korea February 2021 sales
Chevrolet South Korea February 2021 sales
Cadillac South Korea February 2021 sales
GM South Korea March 2021 sales
Chevrolet South Korea March 2021 sales
Cadillac South Korea March 2021 sales
GM Russia sales Q1 2021
GM Russia sales January 2021
GM Russia sales February 2021
GM Russia sales March 2021
Source: Alex Luft for GM Authority