Chevrolet’s C8 Corvette has been in demand.
So much so that some dealers are commanding markups up to $100K over MSRP.
Considering the last Corvette we tested was at $79K, which we felt was a bargain for the performance, that means you could pay an exorbitant amount for a C8.
The response from General Motors amounts to a shrug.
Tony Johnson, GM’s director of car and crossover marketing said as much to GM Authority.
“Dealers are the interface with the customers, so customers make the deal with the dealer, so we leave that side of the business to our great dealer partners, who I think do a fantastic job, honestly, meeting customer needs and helping them through the journey,” Johnson told the site.
When asked if the company could or would do anything to keep dealer markups low, he responded thus: “Well, it’s supply and demand. We supply them, the dealers meet the demand.”
Obviously, one thing Chevy could do is just build more cars, but production delays have been a problem, thanks to a labor strike and COVID-related plant shutdowns, as well as the semiconductor chip shortage.
Still, Chevy sold over 20K cars in 2020 and appears to be on track to easily break that mark in 2021 — over 14,000 cars have moved already.
While dealers are within their right to charge huge markups on a car that’s in high demand and short supply — that’s capitalism, baby — it often feels gross and exploitative. Especially when the markup is higher than the MSRP.
We suggest waiting if you want a Corvette. If not, you might be paying a lot extra for the privilege of being impatient.
[Image: Chevrolet]
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