Chevrolet today raised the curtain on its long-awaited first electric truck.
The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV is being marketed as an electric version of GM’s best-selling vehicle, the Chevy Silverado. But it’s built on the same platform as GM’s first electric truck, the off-road-oriented GMC Hummer EV.
Two Trim Levels; Six Figures for the Nice One
Chevrolet will offer only two versions at first. A bare-bones work truck model will start at $39,900, plus an undisclosed destination charge. The base price is similar to that of the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning work truck, which starts at $39,974.
A much fancier version aimed at private buyers isn’t cheap. That sticker will read $105,000. Chevrolet says a greater variety of trims, at a variety of prices, will follow in 2025. The top Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum will start at just over $90,000.
Lots of Competition Already
The Silverado EV will enter a field with rapidly growing competition. Startup Rivian motors delivered the first electric pickup to a customer late last year. Ram promises an electric version of its Ram 1500 by 2024.
But its most important rival is almost certainly Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup. Ford got the jump on Chevy this time, unveiling its truck first, building it first, and likely delivering it to customers as much as two years before Chevrolet.
Looks Reminiscent of the Chevy Avalanche
But the trucks are very different. Ford is taking a more traditional approach to Lightning with the conventional look and utility of the F-150. Though the Lightning sports an LED-festooned front fascia different from the gas-powered F-150, the two have largely the same proportions.
The same can’t be said of the Silverado EV.
It looks radically different than any other Silverado – closer to the Avalanche pickup Chevy sold from 2001 through 2013. A steeply-raked front windshield allows for more cabin space. Under the sloped hood sits a front trunk with an available power-opening lid. Thick slanted rear pillars frame the bed and allow for more cabin space than a traditional truck.
The Silverado EV lacks a traditional grille, which has the effect of making its nose more understated than the brash look of its gas-powered sibling.
A 4-door/5-passenger configuration is the only one offered. The bed is 5.9 feet – short, but longer than that of the Lightning. Should you need to carry really long objects, though, the Silverado EV revives another feature from the Avalanche -– a midgate allows the rear section to lower and the rear seats to fold down, with a 60/40 split, to create more cargo room.
Roomy, With A Huge Screen
Inside, what you get will depend heavily on which trim level you buy. The spartan WT work truck meant mostly for fleet buyers skips most of the frills. But the RST model aimed at personal-use buyers includes a 17-inch touchscreen that controls climate and entertainment. It’s set close to an 11-inch configurable screen in front of the driver so that the two look almost like one wide screen.
510 or 664 Horsepower
Both versions use two electric motors, one per axle, to deliver standard 4-wheel drive. The work truck edition gets 510 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque. The RST model is more powerful, with 664 horsepower and 780 pound-feet of torque (though using all of it requires shifting into a model Chevy calls Wide Open Watts, or WOW.)
Chevy estimates 400 miles of range, though it will be a long time before the EPA weighs in with any verification of that.
Towing capacity is 8,000 pounds for the WT and 10,000 for the RST. Payload, however, is a surprisingly low 1,200 pounds on the WT and 1,300 on the RST – well below the Lightning’s 2,000 pounds.
A fully independent coil-spring suspension is standard. A more advanced adaptive air suspension will be optional. Both versions will ship with standard 4-wheel steering.
Chevy opened reservations for the new truck today.
Future Electric Trucks: What’s Coming in 2022 and Beyond
