Chevy’s flagship Silverado — now a brilliant EV — is part of a grand GM plan to produce six “high-volume” EVs.
Yep, I was wrong when a few months ago when I stated that my perception was that Chevrolet EV pickup technology had lost some ground to the upstarts Rivian, Polestar — and of course, Ford’s killer brand, the much-heralded F-150 Lightning.
An American classic goes world-class EV
Chevy has not only burst out with the Silverado EV, they have a wide plan to electrify Miami, America and the world. And make no mistake, the Silverado EV is a worthy opponent to all EV pickups. My apologies, GM, you’ve hit a home run with this pickup.
With heavy network TV spots, and heavy social media, Chevrolet has done a great job of showing off their shiny new EV — and customers have responded — with (as of this date) 140,000+ reservations. You can still book one, but you better hurry.
CEO Mary Barra says 60 percent of reservations are customers new to GM and 70 percent of demand is coming from the coasts.
But…don’t get too excited just yet — pre-production of the Silverado EV begins at Detroit’s Factory Zero in a few weeks — but yours won’t be rolling off the line for 11 months. That’s eleven months after Ford began building F-150 Lightnings for customers, but Barra is convinced the truck will be worth the wait, offering superior range, faster fast-charging, four-wheel steering, SuperCruise, a larger more flexible pickup cab and bed, and a differentiated customer experience.
“More than 95 percent of Chevy dealers are signing on to be EV centers and are committed to sticking to MSRP, knowing price gouging will affect future product allocation”, Barra noted
By the way, if you’re looking to buy a F-150 Lightning, you’ll be greeted by this note when visiting the Ford website: “Due to high demand, the current model year is no longer available for retail order. Contact your dealer for more information”.
Expect more EV launches in the coming years. Next up is the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq midsize SUV. Cadillac syas that it will start taking orders May 19.
GMC’s Hummer Rezzies Swell to 70,000
GMC has taken 70,000 reservations for the 2022 Hummer EV, the growling full-size electric pickup that shares components with the Silverado, as well as the 2025 GMC Hummer SUV, Barra said.
The building demand comes as Ford needed to close its F-150 Lightning’s order books in December when reservations reached about 200,000. Ford makes the Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn which was initially set up to make 80,000 Lightnings a year and has since been expanded twice to increase capacity to 150,000 a year, a run rate that will take effect later this year. Even still, some customers could wait as long as a year for their Lightnings. Ford is also building a new electric vehicle assembly plant for F-Series trucks in Stanton, Tennessee, but it won’t be ready until 2025.
GM’s trucks are among six volume EVs being launched in the coming years. Next up is the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq midsize SUV that is being built in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Cadillac will start taking orders May 19.
Okay, gotta’ throw in a Corvette Update
We’ve been sniffing around in an attempt to get production info on the EV version of the Corvette. Here’s the latest: GM confirmed it will produce the Corvette EV starting next year with a hybrid, and sometime after that, a full battery-electric version. Kind of a mushy answer, but it’s a safe bet that the Corvette EV will be a smash hit.
GM also expects to make 50,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs and EUVs this year and four plants have been modified to make EVs and three new battery plants will be in place between this summer and 2024.
Barra says GM will have the capacity to build 1 million EVs in North America as well as in China by the end of 2025 and will assemble 400,000 electric vehicles this year and in 2023. Helping the situation is an improving availability of semiconductor chips, which should make it possible to boost production as much as 30 percent this year.
The product updates come as GM reported net income of $2.9 billion for the first quarter of 2022, a 2.7 percent decrease from a year ago, on $36 billion in revenue for global earnings of $4 billion before interest and taxes. The results were similar to year ago despite higher material costs. New vehicles continue to fly off the lots, averaging a 15-day supply.
