US pickup truck owners are famously brand loyal, with many of them driving models from the same automaker their entire life. However, the advent of all-electric trucks appears to disrupt this behavior, at least in this early stage where not all automakers have battery-powered models on sale.
Data from the Silverado EV Forum reveal an interesting trend among 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV reservation holders who are also members of the online community. Of over 100 members who preordered a Silverado EV, more than 50% say they’re also considering an Ford F-150 Lightning.
This is pretty surprising, but it makes sense on second thought. At the moment, the market doesn't offer that many choices for people interested in buying an electric truck. The only models that are being delivered to customers as we speak are the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV, but both have higher starting MSRPs than the Silverado EV or F-150 Lightning.
Then there’s the fact that the F-150 Lightning comes from an automaker with extensive experience in pickup trucks, whereas the Rivian R1T is the very first product of an EV startup.
While the F-150 Lightning is the No. 1 alternative for almost 52% of these Chevrolet Silverado EV reservation holders, the Tesla Cybertruck is the second most popular choice with 22.2% of the votes. The GMC Hummer EV comes third with 13.6%, followed by the Rivian R1T with 8.6% and the GMC Sierra EV with 1.2%.
It’s interesting to see that the Hummer EV is only the third option for this group of Silverado EV reservation holders, although that may have something to do with the fact that the most affordable Hummer EV pickup starts at just under $80,000 and isn’t coming until spring 2024.
It’s also worth pointing out that many electric truck buyers have reservations for two or more upcoming models and are likely to commit to buying the first one that will land on their driveway. With deliveries of the F-150 Lightning expected to start this spring, Ford may win over plenty of Chevrolet and GMC fans if this limited sample of Silverado EV shoppers proves to be representative for the wider population.
Gallery: 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
