Corvette Sales Up 268%

The sales success of the new Corvette Stingray was not limited to May. Sales for the year so far are higher by 212% to 15,021. Pricing is a big part of the reason the new generation of this Chevy has done so well. The base Stingray sells for $53,000, well below other cars in the category, which run from BMWs to Mercedes and Audis. American car manufacturers have mostly avoided the market for ultra-performance two-seaters.

Car industry outsiders might ask why GM spends so much money developing a vehicle that has such limited sales, and also a great deal more on marketing it. The Corvette has turned out to be a flagship for Chevy, which sells mostly downscale pickups and sedans. With barely a sexy car in its line-up, the Corvette brand almost certainly boosts Chevy’s image in the minds of the public.

The Corvette already dominates this small segment of the auto industry. This is the major reason that there will never be more than a few thousand Corvettes sold a year. According to auto research firm Kelley Blue Book, Corvette had a 59% share of the “high performance car” market in May. Audi’s R8 flagship speedster, which sells for $114,900 — double the Corvette’s base price — sold only 52 units last month, down 39%. The R8 does for Audi what the Corvette does for Chevy. It is very high-profile and well-marketed as “a street-ready race car.” Audi knows the car will never sell more than a few hundred units a year, and it’s worth it.

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Mercedes has taken a similar approach with its super high-end car. It sold only 35 of its SLS AMG last month. The coupe sells for $211,580.

Porsche’s most expensive 911 Turbo S super car sells for $182,700.

In the debate about car prices, one argument could be that Chevy can sell the Corvette for more than it does. Based on price points among competition, the Corvette should fetch more than $100,000. But GM has either decided the Chevy brand is not strong enough to carry such a premium among any of its cars, or it has decided Corvette is the stronger brand of the two. If so, better to get the Corvette into as many hands as possible.

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