It seems like the Ford F-150 Lightning electric ute will be waiting a little while for a direct rival from one of its closest ‘legacy’ competitors.
While it’s set for a reveal at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in January 2022, General Motors won’t begin production of the Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup until early 2023.
As reported by Autonews, GM executive vice president for global product development Doug Parks confirmed this production time for the Silverado EV at Deutsche Bank’s AutoTech Conference.
This production date lags behind its Ford F-150 Lightning rival that’s slated to begin production in the Northern Hemisphere Spring of 2022 (March-May).
2022 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 (overseas model shown)
Ford recently closed its U.S. reservations of the F-150 Lightning amid high demand for the electric pickup.
The Silverado EV will also be behind its GMC Hummer EV pickup sibling, with deliveries expected to start in December 2021.
US startup Rivian has beaten all to the punch having already begun customer deliveries of its R1T electric pickup.
Both the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the GMC Hummer EV aren to be based on GM’s new Ultium architecture designed from the ground up for electric vehicles.
GMC Hummer EV 
Ford F-150 Lightning
Details about the Chevrolet Silverado EV are still few and far between, with the company estimating the electric pickup will have a range of more than 400 miles (643km).
This is more than its leisure-focused Hummer EV, which has a claimed electric range of up to 563km, and the F-150 Lightning which has between 370 and 480km of claimed range.
GM North America President Steve Carlisle told AutoNews in September 2021 that the Silverado EV won’t necessarily be a derivative of today’s internal-combustion powered Silverado pickup.
“With the freedom and latitude that we have to do something that’s ground-up, we see it as more of a white-space opportunity than we see it as an extension of the current lineup,” said Mr Carlisle.
“You should expect different dimensions and different packaging, for instance. We’re not constrained to the same kind of constructions as we are today.”
In August 2021, Chevrolet teased the Silverado EV and detailed some of the features the model will have.
Similar to the Hummer EV’s CrabWalk mode, the Silverado EV will have a four-wheel steering system that’s said to reduce the turning circle of the pickup and increase low-speed manoeuvrability.
It also released a single teaser image of the Silverado EV’s available panoramic glass roof, which will be a first for the Silverado lineup.
The Silverado EV will be assembled at GM’s Factory ZERO plant in Hamtramck, Michigan, along with the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV.
On December 7, 2021, GM announced its plan to splurge more than US$51 million (A$71.35 million) on aluminium die casting equipment for the Silverado EV, among other applications at its Bedford, Indiana facility.
GM’s current plan is to rollout 30 electric vehicles (EVs) globally by 2025 and will have a US-market lineup that’s 40 per cent electric by that time.
It also plans to dethrone Tesla in U.S EV sales by 2025.
In an interview with CBNC, GM CEO Mary Barra said the company can “absolutely” catch Tesla by this date.
Analytics firm IHS Markit predicts Tesla’s share of the US EV market will sit at 56 per cent by the end of 2021, down from 79 per cent in 2020. It also predicts its share will drop to 20 per cent as companies like GM release more and more EVs.
Barra’s comments came a few weeks after the company revealed its new plan to double its overall revenue by 2030, as well as introduce cheaper EV models.
