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Electric Chevrolet Silverado Teased, Won’t Impact ICE Silverado in the Near Term

July 2020 is when General Motors teased the silhouette of the BET, which is short for battery-electric truck. Twinned with the Silverado, the all-new pickup has been previewed again by the Detroit-based automaker.
Electric Chevrolet Silverado teaser 41 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
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Just like the GMC Hummer EV lineup, the e-truck will be manufactured at Factory ZERO in Michigan. The biggest of the big three American automakers intends to deliver more than a million electric vehicles worldwide by 2025, and the fully-electric Silverado half-ton truck will help General Motors reach its target with retail and commercial variants.

“The vehicles coming from Factory ZERO will change the world and how the world views electric vehicles,” said president Mark Reuss. No less than $2.2 billion will be invested toward EV production at the former Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the largest investment in a plant in GM history.

Expanded to over 4.5 million square feet, Detroit-Hamtramck has and will receive comprehensive updates that include brand-new conveyors, machines, controls, and tooling. Otherwise said, Factory ZERO is gearing up for Ultium-based EVs and the Cruise Origin shared self-driving car.

Ultium is a generic term for the automaker’s next-generation platforms, batteries, and electric motors. BT1 is the name of the body-on-frame vehicle architecture for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Hummer twins, and not long now, Cadillac will join them with an all-electric adaptation of the Escalade.

BEV3, meanwhile, is a skateboard-type platform that can be modified for front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive applications. The Cadillac Lyriq crossover and Cadillac Celestiq flagship sedan are based on the modular architecture that will probably underpin the upcoming Corvette-styled crossover.

Turning our attention back to the BT1-underpinned Silverado EV, the newcomer promises more than 400 miles of driving range on a full charge. That’s 644 kilometers if you prefer the metric system, and the fine print reads GM estimate instead of Environmental Protection Agency estimate.

Because it utilizes pretty much the same bits and bobs as the GMC Hummer EV pickup truck and utility vehicle, the all-electric ‘Rado may come with three motors at the most. It wouldn’t be surprising if Chevy will offer a single-motor, rear-driven work truck as well to keep the price down.

On that note, the e-Silverado “does not impact our current Silverado and commitment to ICEs in the near term,” said Chevrolet East Coast communications lead Kyle Suba in a statement to autoevolution.

Emphasis on near term because General Motors will eventually switch to battery-electric vehicles to the detriment of internal combustion. Earlier this year, the largest automaker in the U.S. confirmed the date as by 2035.”

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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