A big Chevy truck isn’t something you’d expect to get the electric-vehicle treatment, but General Motors has announced it’s making an all-electric Chevy Silverado pickup truck with a range of some 400 miles on a single charge.
Chevrolet tweeted a teaser video of the Silverado branding with an electrical shimmer going across it, which doesn't really tell us much about the truck’s design or specs. But the company did say it would be “the first-ever electric Silverado full-size truck.”
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Given that the Chevy Silverado is GM’s best-selling vehicle, we doubt a lot will change with its exterior design.
The muscular bulky front would likely be used to house an electric motor rather than an internal combustion engine, with lithium-ion battery packs then spread out across the truck's chassis floor to help with weight distribution; this is all speculation on our part, however.
Announcing the first-ever electric #Silverado full-size truck, with a GM-estimated range of more than 400 miles on a full charge, will be built at Factory ZERO, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center.https://t.co/7i5bqRNUt7 pic.twitter.com/1ONRFOfuARApril 6, 2021
There's no word on a release date or a potential price for the electric Silverado. But with increasing pressure on carmakers to start electrifying their vehicles, or at least adopt hybrid systems, we’d expect an electric Silverado sooner than later.
Ford is already working on an electric version of its iconic F-150 pickup truck, due to be released next year. So Chevy will have an electric rival ready to figuratively lock fenders with.
Tesla’s Cybertruck is also due later this year or early in 2022, adding another electric truck into the mix. An electric Hummer is also in the works at GM, so America’s roads could soon be awash with electric trucks.
Pickup-truck enthusiasts might scoff at the idea of an electric Silverado. But thanks to the immediate delivery of torque provided by an electrical motor, it could win the approval of people who want a truck that still feels like it’s got plenty of power to hop off the line when loaded with anything from a load of logs or hunting gear to a clutch of children.
We’d expect to see more details around the electric Silverado as the year progresses. And while it might lack the mystery of the Apple Car, it could be one of the most compelling mass-market EVs to hit U.S. highways.
