Electric pickups are likely to be the biggest automotive story of the next few years for two simple reasons. America’s three best-selling vehicles are all full-size pickups. And the automotive industry is trying hard to trade gasoline in for electricity.
If the country is going to shift to electric vehicles (EVs) en masse, automakers will have to find a way to sell truck buyers on the pleasures of the plug.
Chevrolet used this week’s CES consumer electronics show to reveal its long-awaited first electric truck, the 2024 Silverado EV. It joins a quickly-growing stable of big trucks with big batteries. But its most logical nemesis is the Ford F-150 Lightning.
Ford was quicker on the draw than Chevy, selling 200,000 reservations for Lightnings before Chevy even had a prototype to show the press. And Chevy somewhat followed the track Ford laid down. The Silverado comes as a basic work truck for a little under $40,000, just like the Lightning. It also comes as a luxury model with all the fixin’s, just like the Lightning – though Chevy’s will cost you about $15,000 more than a kitted-out F-150 Lightning.
Those will be, at first, the only two Silverado EV options. Chevy will launch the truck as a $39,900 work truck, a $105,000 RST with every creature comfort, and nothing in-between.
But, a year later, another option will appear. Something Ford hasn’t matched. An off-roader.
Electric Trail Boss
Chevrolet revealed few details about the Silverado EV Trail Boss, so we’re mostly left to speculate. To drive that speculation, they offered brief video footage of the truck kicking up a lot of dust in a desert setting.
The Trail Boss seems to sit higher than other Silverado EVs, suggesting a few inches of lift. It’s hard to tell if the tires are larger because even the Silverado Work Truck rides on enormous 24-inch tires (Chevy says they’re the largest set ever fitted to a base model truck). But the tires in the Trail Boss video seem to have more of a sidewall, so they’re probably an all-terrain set.
The grille (er…nose…electric vehicles lack true grilles) of the Trail Boss model is nearly all black plastic, in place of the painted metal of the standard Silverado EV. That makes sense, as plastic would better handle the inevitable chips and scratches of a trail runner, and engineers wouldn’t want to add weight to an electric truck with heavy brush guards to protect the front.
Probably Borrows Heavily from the Hummer EV
Chevy’s first electric truck may wear the Silverado name, but it doesn’t ride on the Silverado’s frame. It shares most of its architecture with GM’s other electric pickup, the GMC Hummer EV.
That truck has quite a list of off-road features. A Silverado bound for the trail might well borrow its 360-degree camera system, its unique “crab walk” low-speed 4-wheel-steering setup, and its highly-customizable drive modes. It likely couldn’t steal all of the Hummer EV’s tricks because it can’t share its price tag.
The gas-powered Silverado has a Custom Trail Boss model, which starts at $47,640 – well below the Hummer’s $79,995 base price. GM will likely try to keep the Silverado EV Trail Boss closer to the first figure than the second to avoid competing with itself for buyers.
At Least One Other EV Off-Roader
The Silverado EV Trail Boss, of course, won’t get here until the 2025 model year. By the time it arrives, off-road enthusiasts may already be getting used to the idea of electric trucks on the trail.
Illinois-based startup Rivian has already begun delivering its R1T pickup to buyers. Starting at $67,500, it features off-road goodies like an air suspension with 6.5 total inches of adjustability, underbody shielding, and angles that compete with any dedicated off-roader. With a separate electric motor in each wheel, the R1T has immensely flexible power that helps it get out of highly technical rock-crawling situations that would defeat many gas-powered off-roaders.
Many enthusiasts have questions about how electric trucks will fare in the wild, given the limits imposed by batteries. But they have charms most drivers haven’t encountered yet.
Perhaps greatest of all – they’re as close to silent as a truck can be. Journalists who’ve done off-road testing in the R1T report that the experience is something entirely new, as the truck doesn’t scare off wildlife and lets drivers hear the streams they’re fording.
So the Silverado EV Trail Boss won’t be alone by the time it reaches showrooms. But, for now, it lets Chevy claim a one-up on Ford – the first coup they’ve counted in the accelerating electric truck wars.
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