GMSV urges Holden dealers to refund Corvette deposits

General Motors Specialty Vehicles has issued a bulletin to buyers interested in the C8 Corvette, warning deposits put down at Holden dealers do not guarantee a car.

The incoming local distributor for General Motors urged Holden dealers to refund any deposits they hold on the Corvette while GMSV works out how its new dealer network will be structured.

“Unfortunately, deposits will not guarantee your purchase of a Corvette when they arrive towards the end of next year,” the bulletin said, “and we recommended that all dealers refund these deposits, while we finalise the ordering process.”

Interest in the eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette piqued after Holden confirmed it for local shores in July last year, with the first-of-its-kind 6.2-litre V8 mid-engine coupe offered in right-hand drive and delivered to Australia from the factory.

“We’re really happy that there’s still that excitement around the Corvette but we are still establishing that network of dealers who will actually sell it,” a local GMSV spokesperson has told Whichcar.

But while GMSV is figuring out its local operations, as well as the supply limits of the new-age Corvette, it means not every dealer will be in a position to deliver the reserved cars.

“Dealers were never told to take deposits so if they took one they did that of their own volition,” the spokesperson says.

“Right now we’re in the process of establishing GMSV network of dealers, and working through who will be a dealer and who’s not, so we don’t know which dealers will get Corvettes and which dealers will be in that network.”

GMSV announced plans to spiritually succeed HSV in Australia in the fourth quarter this year ahead of the Corvette's arrival in 2021, and the company is yet to update the arrival time with a specific date.

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The news immediately follows reports in America that the Corvette is suffering production delays in Kentucky due to parts shortages.

Now, Chevrolet is reportedly waiting to establish a parts surplus before resuming work, setting it up to mobilise 1300 workers and produce 800 to 850 cars per week.

It’s the latest a string of delays that have plagued the Corvette, including a strike last year and COVID-19’s heavy impact on America as well as global supply chains.

When the Corvette eventually arrives, it will be sold alongside the Chevrolet Silverado that the Walkinshaw Group currently converts to right-hand drive.

GMSV says anyone after an Australian delivered Corvette should register their interest through its online portal.