March Corvette Sales - By the Numbers

March Shows Strong Up-tick In Sales Volume

Yesterday, General Motors released their sales report for March, 2018. The report indicates that a total of 2,101 Corvettes were sold during the March sales period. Year-to-date, this is the strongest sales month for Corvette, though total sales volume is still down compared to this same period last year. In March, 2017, Chevrolet sold 2,460 Corvettes, indicating a decline in sales by 359 units, which translates into a -14.6% drop in sales between 2017 and 2018. Similarly, year-to-date Corvette sales thru March, 2018 total just 4,457 units, compared to this same period in 2017, where total sales equaled 5,804 units. This accounts for -23.2% total drop in sales year-over-year.

While sales numbers are still down from last year, the uptick in March sales does show an expected improvement in overall sales volume. With the availability of the 2019 model year, which includes the all-new Corvette ZR1, in addition to new 2017 and 2018 units that are still available (both with GM sales incentives in-place), the expectation is that sales volume will continue to increase in the coming months. As it relates to sales volume in 2018, Corvette sales in March are up 1,005 units (or 109.05%) over January, and up 750 units (or 55.51%) over February.

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2005	2,382	2,365	3,215	3,177	3,078	2,417	1,872	2,202	2,372	2,981	3,157	3,271
2006	2,579	3,058	3,655	3,516	3,317	2,938	2,794	2,990	3,056	2,761	2,773	3,081
2007	2,234	2,784	3,158	3,227	3,300	3,055	2,377	2,877	2,837	2,484	2,438	2,914
2008	2,015	2,071	2,692	3,190	2,904	2,082	1,870	4,242	2,318	1,170	1,093	1,324
2009	842	1,027	1,183	1,407	1,643	1,396	966	746	1,585	1,154	952	1,033
2010	854	624	955	1,089	1,428	1,405	1,199	1,135	1,109	1,011	836	979
2011	721	955	1,163	1,454	1,304	1,299	1,291	936	1,147	946	910	1,038
2012	629	1,854	1,376	1,396	1,219	1,475	987	1,210	1,351	1,167	1,104	1,291
2013	908	980	1,053	974	905	853	671	655	831	3,929	2,527	3,005
2014	2,261	2,438	3,480	3,514	3,328	2,723	3,060	2,679	2,467	2,959	2,378	3,552
2015	2,127	2,605	3,785	3,469	3,514	2,807	2,794	2,725	2,572	2,526	1,952	2,453
2016	1,501	2,116	2,753	3,142	2,673	2,483	2,159	3,063	2,829	2,626	1,941	2,709
2017	1,263	2,081	2,460	2,756	2,535	2,612	1,930	1,748	1,506	1,345	2,565	2,278
2018	1,005	1,351	2,101	1,928	1,928	1,928	1,465	1,648	1,526	1,320	1,269	1,320
2019	1,297	1,245	1,401	1,881	2,171	1,736	1,568	1,756	1,442	1,149	1,193	1,149
2020	1,241	1,606	973	443	984	1,033	2,228	1,981	2,146	3,033	2,492	3,467
2021	2,116	2,116	2,380	2,692	2,588	2,692	3,431	3,304	3,431

General Motors reported that, effective immediately, they will begin reporting U.S. vehicle sales on a quarterly (versus monthly) basis. For 2018, second quarter sales will be released on July 3, third quarter sales on October 2 and fourth quarter sales on January 3, 2019.

“Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president, Sales Operations. “Reporting sales quarterly better aligns with our business, and the quality of information will make it easier to see how the business is performing.”

Per GM, monthly sales are subject to many issues that make them more volatile than quarterly sales, including product launch activity, weather and other seasonal factors. This certainly holds true for the Corvette. Given the unique nature of the brand, its a reasonable assumption that Corvette sales will fluctuate with the seasons and weather conditions. Quarterly sales numbers ought to provide a broader, though perhaps more accurate, snapshot of how the car is selling in the marketplace.

Source: GM Media