The electric Silverado is built on the same architecture as the GMC Hummer EV |
GM Chief Executive Mary Barra told the annual CES technology
conference via video on Wednesday that the electric Silverado will launch in
two stages in 2023, starting in the second quarter with a $39,900 WT work truck that will be delivered to a
limited group of commercial fleets. In the fall of 2023, GM plans to start
delivering a consumer, outdoor adventure-oriented model that will start at
$105,000 - more than an electric Mercedes EQS sedan.
By 2035, Barra said, GM plans to offer an electric
heavy-duty pickup truck, which would use batteries to replace the
carbon-intensive diesel engines currently favored in trucks used primarily for
heavy trailer hauling. Chevrolet also plans an off-road "Trail Boss"
version of the electric pickup, she said.
Retail customers will see less expensive versions of the
electric Silverado roll out in 2024 and beyond, Chevrolet officials said in
briefings ahead of Barra's online CES speech.
GM shares were down 1.7 percent in afternoon trading
following Barra's presentation.
The electric Silverado's debut escalates a battle for sales
and customer loyalty in a segment that includes some of the most profitable
vehicles sold by the Detroit automakers. Startup Rivian Automotive's electric
R1T pickup, first shown in 2018, and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's
polarising vision for an all-electric pickup called the Cybertruck, spurred the
Detroit Three to accelerate development of electric pickups.
The Cybertruck's launch date remains uncertain. Stellantis
NV's electric Ram truck is due in 2024. For now, the first lap of the electric
pickup race is a contest among Ford, GM and Rivian, which began shipping the
first of its $67,500 and up R1T models late last year.
The electric Silverado is built on the same architecture as
the GMC Hummer EV, and has design and functional features that hark back to the
automaker's Avalanche truck, a hybrid of an SUV and a pickup GM launched in the
early 2000s. Like the Avalanche, the electric Silverado has a
"mid-gate," which opens up the back of the cab and slanted wings on
the back of the cab.
The electric Silverado will enter the race for both fleet
and consumer buyers a year or more behind the electric Ford F-150 Lightning.
That gap reflects contrasting strategic choices by the longtime rivals.
Barra and GM President Mark Reuss are betting GM will win in
the long run by first developing dedicated electric-vehicle architectures and a
vertically integrated battery and motor production chain, then launching
electric-vehicle models in high volume during the middle and latter part of
this decade. By then, GM executives expect the costs of the company's
proprietary Ultium battery technology will be lower than rivals, conferring a
decisive advantage.
Ford took a different path. The F-150 Lightning due for
delivery starting this spring is a modified version of the current, gasoline
F-150 that is part of the best-selling vehicle line in the United States.
Ford's approach was faster, and Ford Chief Executive Jim
Farley last month said the company had to cap at 200,000 the number of
reservations it will take from consumers for the truck.
Farley is pushing aggressively to build as many Lightnings
as possible before GM's Silverado and other rivals hit the market. On Tuesday,
Ford said it planned to double capacity for building Lightnings at its Rouge
complex in Dearborn, Michigan, to 150,000 vehicles a year. Ford last September
said it was increasing Lightning capacity to 80,000 vehicles from 40,000.
Ford also is starting work with battery partner SK
Innovation on an $11.4 billion network of vehicle assembly and battery-making
plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Ford and GM are both targeting commercial fleet customers
with electric pickups priced just below $40,000.
GM said the WT, or work truck, version of the Silverado EV
will have a 400-mile (644km) driving range and will first go to a select group
of fleet customers under deals already negotiated. GM expects to deliver
"tens of thousands" of electric work trucks, said Steve Carlisle,
head of GM's North American operations.
Ford and GM are taking different paths to winning retail
customers. The F-150 Lightning for retail customers has a 300-mile range, a
400-liter capacity front trunk that can function as a drink cooler and an
option that enables the truck to power a house during a blackout. It can carry
1,800 pounds (816kg) of stuff. The consumer Lightning had a starting price of
$52,974, excluding tax breaks, before Ford capped orders.
The electric Silverado RST for retail buyers has a 400-mile
range, a "mid-gate" in the back of the cab that can accommodate
kayaks and surfboards, but carries less cargo and will not have backup
generator capability when it launches.
Carlisle said the generator function is "very much on
the radar." A Chevrolet spokeswoman said bi-directional charging to power
a home will be available within the first year of production.
GM executives said they will emphasise the Silverado's
superior range in advertising that will start this year.
GM's decision to charge European luxury car prices for the
first Silverado RSTs mirrors the strategy for the first Hummer EVs, which
started at over $110,000 and are now available for starting prices of $99,995 -
more than double the average transaction price for a GM vehicle. © Reuters
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