GM spokesman Dan Flores confirmed to The Detroit News on Friday that production at the GM Bowling Green plant would be offline for the week of April 25th and would return to its usual two-shift rotation on Monday.
“Our supply chain, manufacturing, and engineering teams are working closely with suppliers to mitigate further impacts on production and we expect to resume operations the week of May 2,” Flores said.
The automaker also halted production of the C8 Corvette Stingray the week of March 21st due to an unexpected parts shortage. That one-week stoppage forced GM to push the production start date of the 2023 model year Corvette Stingray from May 9th to May 16th. It’s therefore possible that this latest setback could delay production of the 2023 model year Corvette even further, potentially by another week. This timeline only applies to the entry Corvette Stingray variant, as the production start date for the hotly anticipated 2023 Corvette Z06 has yet to be determined.
Order books for the 2023 Corvette Stingray opened on April 7th, including for the new, limited-run 70th Anniversary Edition model. While the 2023 Corvette Stingray will introduce minor changes to the nameplate, it will stick with the same naturally aspirated 6.2L LT2 V8 engine, which is rated at 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque when equipped with the optional Performance Exhaust. Just as before, power will be routed to the rear wheels through a Tremec-developed eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
GM sold 8,811 examples of the 2022 Corvette Stingray in Q1, a 32.28 percent increase year-over-year. Sales of the C8 Corvette Stingray has been strong since it was introduced at the beginning of 2020, with GM admitting last year that its current production capacity is “not even close,” to fulfilling demand for the mid-engine sports car.