The Chevy Silverado EV thread

Chevy has taken the wraps off its version of the EV pickup and it's taking a bit of a different approach than Ford. The EV Silverado doesn't share any heritage with the gas version, instead it's built off the Hummer EV platform, with up to 200kwh of battery available, shooting for a 400 mile max range. As far as I can tell, Chevy doesn't have an actual vehicle to show just yet, just these mockup images. Look for it to start deliveries in 2023 or 2024.

I'll be curious how the market responds to Chevy's Avalanche-like effort as compared to the more traditional F150 Lightning. I don't at all mind the way the Silverado EV looks, and the mid-bed is a useful gadget.  It will have similar vehicle-to-grid capability to the Ford, and looks like it has a large Frunk too.

The above is the RST model which will probably top out above $100k. The $40k entry-level model is the WT, which should look like this:

Here's a mockup of the Frunk:

That is a EV that I think would work exceptionally well for my needs. Finally car makers are getting that an EV  is not a license to make a crappy looking vehicle.  
 

Oh and how about standardization of charging ports. I am not one for more government regulations but I really am surprised that this has not occurred yet.  The Testla monopoly on their chargers is great for them and was absolutely needed to make an EV viable and Testla successful. But it is now hurting the big picture for the future of the EV.  

In reply to dean1484 :

It seems that companies are moving towards the CCS standard. ChAdeMo was a standard for a while but that's gone the way of Laserdisc. I hope Tesla switches the US network over to CCS at some point like they use in Europe. 

400 miles on a charge is decently impressive.  I'm assuming since it is a massive damned truck they just threw more batteries at it rather than using any exciting new tech.

Love it. Love the F150, too.

OK everyone, enough EV cars, enough EV luxury, enough EV SUVs, this is good for EV trucks. Do a minivan now.

Mr_Asa said:

400 miles on a charge is decently impressive.  I'm assuming since it is a massive damned truck they just threw more batteries at it rather than using any exciting new tech.

Probably.  But for a truck, I think "more batteries" is the right answer.  You can get more range by reducing rolling drag, improving aero, etc.  But those gains pretty much go out the window if you hook up a trailer.  On the other hand, double the battery capacity and your range will approximately double with any load. 

I like that it exists and provides competition in the space, but my goodness that thing is ugly.

I expect local construction project managers and superintendents would be great target customers for EV trucks, but when you go away from a conventional bed, it is impossible to use standard toolboxes and auxiliary fuel tanks (for equipment, obviously not for the vehicle).  Sure, I get it.  Trucks are primarily commuters now, but there are tons of construction trucks that never drive more than 200 miles in a day.  EV's would be perfect.

I expect the F150 Lightning to outsell this like 2 to 1. The fact that the Lightning looks and functions like a regular truck is a really good thing in the truck market, both for practical reasons bigeyedfish says but also for emotional reasons.

Looks good (even the "cheapo" model isn't bad) and it's something I could use, but the unconventional bed issue also immediately jumped out at me - that's going to be a mess for a lot of Real Truck Stuff uses even though it would be more practical for how most trucks are actually used, they would be smart to keep a conventional bed option around, especially for the construction customers.

dean1484 said:

Oh and how about standardization of charging ports.

Charge ports have been standardized for a decade.  Tesla is the only manufacturer using a proprietary connector.

Every EV sold in the US today except Teslas and the Nissan Leaf (and Nissan has signaled that they'll be changing) use SAE CCS for fast DC charging.  Every single EV supports SAE J1772 (even Tesla, via adapter) for AC charging.

tuna55 said:

Love it. Love the F150, too.

 

OK everyone, enough EV cars, enough EV luxury, enough EV SUVs, this is good for EV trucks. Do a minivan now.

Do a small hatchback/wagon.  Mazda3/GTI sized.  With a torsen.

ProDarwin said:

tuna55 said:

Love it. Love the F150, too.

 

OK everyone, enough EV cars, enough EV luxury, enough EV SUVs, this is good for EV trucks. Do a minivan now.

Do a small hatchback/wagon.  Mazda3/GTI sized.  With a torsen.

Torsen? Individual wheel motors make any kind of diff look like crap you know

GameboyRMH said:

ProDarwin said:

tuna55 said:

Love it. Love the F150, too.

 

OK everyone, enough EV cars, enough EV luxury, enough EV SUVs, this is good for EV trucks. Do a minivan now.

Do a small hatchback/wagon.  Mazda3/GTI sized.  With a torsen.

Torsen? Individual wheel motors make any kind of diff look like crap you know

I'm open to that solution if it can be done for a reasonable price :) 

A torsen is simple, cheap, reliable solution for DD-ish purposes.

The basic specs seem solid and the idea of an EV truck is fantastic, but as pointed out the bed config is a non-starter for actual work trucks.  All the people buying trucks for personal use seem to go with trucks like this - 4 doors, small bed, don't do that much "real truck" stuff.  But all the people & companies buying trucks for work use will want at least a 6.5' bed and, as mentioned, the ability to put standard truck stuff like toolboxes, racks, etc. on it.  

Does anyone know what the market split on trucks is - % used for personal use vs true work/fleet use?  Seems like this is aimed squarely at the former.  

I have not purchased a truck in a decade and, while I live in the 'burbs, this attempt does not make me want to change that. The frunk is neat, it'll do a great job of holding nothing during daily commutes. I think the Lightning will sell better but these will fill the 'big intimidating manly minivan' niche in a large way. 

ProDarwin said:

GameboyRMH said:

ProDarwin said:

tuna55 said:

Love it. Love the F150, too.

 

OK everyone, enough EV cars, enough EV luxury, enough EV SUVs, this is good for EV trucks. Do a minivan now.

Do a small hatchback/wagon.  Mazda3/GTI sized.  With a torsen.

Torsen? Individual wheel motors make any kind of diff look like crap you know

I'm open to that solution if it can be done for a reasonable price :) 

A torsen is simple, cheap, reliable solution for DD-ish purposes.

I think I am driving nearly that car now, but no torsen. I'm OK with it. I wouldn't replace my Bolt with a more sporty Bolt, but I would replace my Pacifica with an EV alternative.

tuna55 said:

I think I am driving nearly that car now, but no torsen.

And about 7" too tall :)

But yeah, the Bolt is allllmost there

Avalanche and Ridgeline had a baby.

I'd probably be more likely to buy a Lightning if I were in the market, but it's always good to have options.

mfennell said:

dean1484 said:

Oh and how about standardization of charging ports.

Charge ports have been standardized for a decade.  Tesla is the only manufacturer using a proprietary connector.

Every EV sold in the US today except Teslas and the Nissan Leaf (and Nissan has signaled that they'll be changing) use SAE CCS for fast DC charging.  Every single EV supports SAE J1772 (even Tesla, via adapter) for AC charging.

It's looking very much (via some applications filed in Texas) that Tesla is going to start building CCS-compatible Supercharger stations in the US. And CCS charging ability for US Teslas is also coming - a friend is trialling it right now.

That said, we've survived with two major incompatible liquid fuel standards in the US for a very long time. I wouldn't get too excited about it.

The Avalanche made a very small splash in the truck market. I don't think the commercial market used it at all, and the fact that it died after spawning a luxo variant says that the private market didn't care that much either. I'm not sure I'd use it as a base for my next generation bread and butter vehicle.

In reply to NorseDave :

Modern trucks are so tall that I can't see toolboxes or ladder racks getting much use anyway. To get an idea of scale, the blue truck pictured has 24" wheels. You'd need a ladder just to put a ladder onto a ladder rack these days. Everything that you'd put in an in-bed tool box can probably be stored and more easily accessed in the "Frunk".

I have no idea if this will be successful in the commercial segment or not, but I'm not sure the bed rails are as big of a hurdle as it might initially appear. The lack of a separate bed, and the mid-gate do mean that you can't use a workbody though

I'm a gm fan even with all their faltering but I think the lightening is a much better intro to the EV truck market. This avalanche look is much better suited to a smaller truck like the maverick. The big boys should stick with the generic "truck look" to enter the EV market and then once they've established themselves branch to something like this.

Incidentally, why don't bedsides fold down on new trucks for ease of loading? Like old vanagons.

The F150 Lightning being built on a typical F150 body seems to give a big advantage of economies of scale and keeping build cost down...I think...  

That makes me wonder if this EV Silverado is more of a precursor to what a gas-Silverado is going to be redesigned to? 

With some more radiator airflow in the grill, this sure looks like it could be a gas-Silverado.

Sample of the current model:

The EV version looks to be Unibody?   Other than that, they look to be the same truck with just some slight changes in style-lines.  The biggest difference being the sail panel after the c-pillar.  

iansane said:

Incidentally, why don't bedsides fold down on new trucks for ease of loading? Like old vanagons.

I remember that being a very popular thing in Australia, and you can get beds like that in the US. Home Depot often has them on short term rental trucks. I suspect it's only viable for very light duty.

In reply to John Welsh :

Not necessarily a unibody.  I'm thinking it's likely an Avalanche style bed/cab as one unit (to allow passthrough), but still sitting on a frame.