Final Production Statistics for the 2018 Corvette Model Year

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Final Production Statistics for the 2018 Corvette Model Year


The National Corvette Museum released the final production statistics for the 2018 model year today and now the fun begins as Corvette enthusiasts comb through the stats looking to see how unique their Corvettes are. The model year actually ends the week of January 22nd but with all the orders in the system and finalized, the stats were released early.


For the model year, Chevrolet built a total of 9,686 Corvettes. The shortened model year total is the lowest since 1959 which saw 9,670 Corvettes built. We guessed earlier that the number would be close to the 9,752 Corvettes built during the last short model year, 1997 with the introduction of the C5 Coupe and 2018 production nearly equaled that mark.

The number one selling model was the Corvette Stingray Coupe which accounts for 31.7% of production, followed by the Grand Sport Coupe which saw 25.6% of production, and the Z06 Coupe which had 24.3% of 2017 Corvette production. Here are the numbers and percentages by model:

Model
Quantity
Percentage
 
Stingray Coupe
3,068
31.7%
Stingray Convertible
735
7.6%
Grand Sport Coupe
2,569
26.5%
Grand Sport Convertible
512
5.3%
Z06 Coupe
2,353
24.3%
Z06 Convertible
449
4.6%
 
Totals:
9,686
100%

The Corvette Stingray Coupe is the entry model and so we always like to look at the trim package penetration to get an idea about the buyer. For the Stingray Coupe, the top trim package is the 1LT, chosen by over half of buyers with 1,753 (57.1%) vs 782 for 2LT (25.4%), and 543 for 3LT (17.7%). That means that 18.1% of ALL Corvette sales are the base model coupes with the base trim package. I always think about that number as those who stretched their car-buying budgets to get to the mid-$50k where the base Stingray resides. That’s something to think about with the C8 mid-engine on the horizon.

Grand Sport buyers opted for the 2LT over the 3LT and 1LT packages while most Z06s were outfitted with 3LZ trim packages followed closely by 2LZ and then 1LZ.

Only 24% of Stingray Coupe/Convertible buyers opted for the Z51 performance package. For Grand Sport, 7.8% of Coupe/Convertible buyers opted for the Z07 Performance package while 7.9% went with the J57 Carbon Ceramic Brakes option.

For Z06 buyers, 20.8% selected the Z07 Performance Package while another 2.2% selected the J57 carbon ceramic brakes (without Z07). As far as percentages go, the 2018 model year saw a huge drop off in Z07/J57 orders for Z06 which is why Chevrolet offered that awesome $5K rebate on the J57 option earlier in the year. In 2017, 32.5% of Z06 buyers selected the Z07 Performance Package while another 17.9% selected the J57 ceramic brakes.

Across the board, the take-rate on the 8-speed automatic transmission was 78%. For Z06, 72.1% of buyers selected the 8-speed automatic.

The top selling color once again across all models was Arctic White by a large margin with 20.3% of production followed by Black (16.3%) and Torch Red (14%). On the low side, just 85 Corvettes were painted in the new Sebring Orange tintcoat. Talk about rare! Only 11 Sebring Orange convertibles were built across the 2018 model lineup – two Stingray Convertibles, three Z06 Convertibles, and just six Grand Sport Convertibles wear the new color.

Color Quantity Percentage
     
Arctic White 1,966 20.3%
Black 1,575 16.3%
Torch Red 1,355 14.0%
Watkins Glen Gray 1,115 11.5%
Ceramic Matrix Gray 1,099 11.3%
Admiral Blue 703 7.3%
Long Beach Red 599 6.2%
Blade Silver 571 5.9%
Corvette Racing Yellow 399 4.1%
Black Rose 219 2.3%
Sebring Orange 85 0.9%


We reported the final 2018 Carbon 65 production numbers last week. Chevrolet will build out all 650 Carbn 65s with 297 Grand Sports and 353 Z06s. Here are those stats again:

MODEL TOTAL Z07 J57 Brakes 7-Speed Manual 8-Speed Automatic
         
GS Coupe 262 47 30 50 212
GS Convertible 35 5 2 8 27
Z06 Coupe 281 93 6 55 196
Z06 Convertible 72 17 5 15 57
         
TOTALS 650 162 43 158 492


As for the final breakout of production stats, here are the totals on exports with Chevrolet sending 1,062 of the 9,686 Corvettes produced to five international markets, That’s 11% of 2018 production and as a percentage that beats the 9.8% (3,225 Corvettes) of 2017 models exported to the same regions.

  • Canada – 587
  • Europe – 343
  • Mideast – 66
  • Mexico – 57
  • Japan – 9


To see all the statistics and breakouts, click here to view the PDF spreadsheet on final 2018 Corvette production from the National Corvette Museum.


Source:
National Corvette Museum

Related:
Final 2018 Corvette Carbon 65 Production Totals Released
[VIDEO] What’s New with the 2018 Corvette Seminar from the NCM Bash
The Order Guide is Out and the ‘Carbon 65’ Package is the New Special Edition for 2018 Corvette

 



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3 COMMENTS

  1. Couldn’t be happier with my Base 1LT Coupe in Sterling Blue (yes,1 of under 1k total of all trims). And no,I didn’t,” stretch my car-buying budget to get to the mid-$50k where the base Stingray resides”. And why is it,”Something to think about with the C8 mid-engine on the horizon”?

  2. I did purposely pick a 1LT base car, as I have other toys and I am more than happy with the car. I also own a 2005 SSR and a 1992 C4 Corvette. I do fear that once the new corvettes get too over priced , the sales will falter, but what do I know.
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  3. I am glad that there is a lower price, new Corvette available for those who want a Vette but need to “stretch the budget” to get there. We need all the buyers possible to keep the Corvette profitable for GM.

    I bought a new 2016 Stingray Coupe…I did not want all the mandatory options with the 3LT. I like to personalize my Vettes with my choice of options and mods. I had 2LT, Z51, 8 speed paddle, recorder, wide spoiler, stock wheels (I normally put on aftermarket wheels), etc. I love my Vette as it is…I also got the NCM delivery and did the Ron Fellows driving school…both were once in a lifetime experiences and well worth the money.

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