GM to idle Corvette output due to parts supply shortage

General Motors is planning to idle production of the hot-selling Corvette sports car next week due to a parts shortage.

Bowling Green Assembly, the automaker's plant in Kentucky, will idle operations from March 1 to March 5. The 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is produced there.

The downtime is not related to the global semiconductor chip shortage that's proving to be a thorn in automakers' sides.

"Due to a temporary parts supply issue, we can confirm that Bowling Green Assembly will not run production the week of March 1," GM spokesman Dan Flores said in an email. "Our supply chain, manufacturing and engineering teams are working closely with our supply base to mitigate any further impact on production, and we expect the plant to resume normal operations on Monday, March 8."

The automaker did not confirm the specific supply issue.

U.S. deliveries of the new Corvette surged 158 percent to 8,992 during the fourth quarter, GM said. They increased 20 percent to 21,626 deliveries for all of 2020.

Production was halted at Bowling Green Assembly for the first two weeks of February for the same reason.

GM also idled production of the sports car in October and November 2020 due to supply chain shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Detroit News reported on the latest production halt on Wednesday.