Mary Barra Not Sold On Spinning Off Corvette Brand, Doesn’t Rule It Out Either

General Motors chief executive Mary Barra has opened up about the C8 Corvette in an interview with Motor Trend, indicating that she’s not sold on the idea of turning the ‘Vette into its own subbrand; yet, she won’t close the door on the possibility.

Asked directly if General Motors would consider making the Corvette a subbrand, much like Ford has done with the Mustang following the launch of the all-electric Mach-E, Barra said GM would need to tread carefully.

“I think you have to be really careful because you have to understand what makes the brand the brand,” she said. “So I’m not going to say never, but I think if General Motors were to ever do anything, we would assess it very, very carefully. Corvette means something so special to so many people.”

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Shortly after the new Corvette was presented to the world, unnamed GM insiders asserted that the company would use the hype surrounding the car’s launch to create a dedicated Corvette brand that could produce a sedan and a crossover/SUV from 2023. So far, there’s no indication that there’s some kind of substance in this rumor and, based on Barra’s comments, it doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon – if all all.

Discussing the new Corvette more broadly, Barra said that the car manufacturer will work hard to ensure the C8 remains affordable, despite reports of the company losing money on low-trim cars and preparing a price jump for the car’s second model year.

“What I think is really important is Chevrolet is a home for Corvette and Chevrolet is American, and it’s value, it’s ingenuity,” she said. “I think all of that is captured. [It] represents all that Chevrolet means, and part of that is, I think, that it is obtainable. So I think we will work really hard to make sure that we always live true to the Chevrolet brand, which is American, it’s value, it’s ingenuity.”