The war of electric vehicles will be played out in the United States in the segment of pickup trucks.
It is in this market with profitable margins that one will observe the main players in the EV arms race, and determine which are the winners and which wind up at the end of the pack.
Indeed, for the first time, the main American car manufacturers are directly competing with each other in the EV race, with a goal to seduce consumers and the heartland of America. Rivian, the EV upstart, was the first to market with its R1T pickup truck, Ford responded with the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of the best-selling F-150.
The struggling EV upstart Lordstown Motors produces Endurance.
Tesla, which has never been present in the pickup truck segment, will deliver its very first model in this category at the end of the third quarter. This is the Cybertruck, a vehicle with a futuristic design, which is supposed to change the perception that we have of these vehicles, which are loved because they are practical.
In 2024, Stellantis NV, parent company of Fiat Chrysler, will start building its electric Ram pickup, called the Revolution.
And then there is General Motors.
It's All About the Battery Range
Certainly, the Detroit giant already has the GMC Hummer EV, but its real weapon is the electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. The truck, which is built on a new platform, Ultium, will be first produced in small numbers as a work truck for fleet buyers, starting this month. It will be called the WT model. The first copies of the WT will be delivered to customers by the end of the spring, the new president of North America, Rory Harvey, just told the media. GM plans to launch the Silverado EV RST First Edition for retail customers in the fall.
The company, led by Mary Barra, wants to send a message to its competitors. This message takes the form of the range of the Chevrolet Silverado EV. It will have a range of 450 miles for the fleet model, the WT. This means that the driver will be able to drive 450 miles on a single charge. For retail customers, the battery will last 350 miles. This range will top Ford's Lightning by 30 miles, since the F-150 Lightning can travel up to 320 miles on a single full charge. The Silverado will also top Rivian's R1T, which has a range of 314 miles, while the Endurance has a range of 200 miles.
Tesla has not revealed the range of the Cybertruck. But last month, the Austin, Texas-based carmaker revealed that the Cybertruck will have a battery pack size of 100 kWh. Rivian's R1T has a battery pack of 135 kWh and the Ford F-150 Lightning's Extended Range Pack sits at 131 kWh. These large batteries allow them to travel 314 miles and 320 miles on a single charge, respectively.
The Silverado EV will top even GM's own GMC Hummer pickup, which gets 329 miles per charge.
"When you look at that range, particularly in respect to the work truck which is predominantly a fleet vehicle, we believe that gives us a competitive advantage in terms of those fleet customers," Harvey told the media about the Silverado EV.
The impressive range of the Chevrolet Silverado, which has a starting price of $39,900, is a result of a focused effort to build this truck from the ground up on the Ultium platform, and real-world testing and development over the past several months, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Aerodynamics, battery chemistry and strategic engineering and design all contribute to that.
The electric Ram pickup, called the Revolution, which is expected in 2024, may top the Silverado, as the company expects it to have a driving range of 500 miles.
