General Motors Co. is kicking off production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV with some upgraded specs for the coming truck, and a higher price for the base model.
GM had pegged the starting price of the lowest-trim Work Truck at $39,900 when it announced the electric pickup last year but said Monday the vehicle, slated to become available next year, will see an unspecified price increase.
"A lot has changed in the last year and a half, a lot of economic and industry pressure, we are going to increase that price," said Amy Masica, head of Chevrolet truck marketing, during a media event. "However, I'm going to guarantee that it's going to have more range than the competitors and we're going to be competitively priced."
The automaker on Monday also announced increases to payload and towing for the launch version of the fleet-focused Silverado EV Work Truck from 1,200 to 1,440 pounds for payload and from 8,000 to 10,000 pounds for towing. GM previously said the debut truck for commercial customers, which is now in production at GM's Factory Zero in Detroit, will get an EPA-estimated range of 450 miles, up from the previous estimate of 400. The launch Silverado EV Work Truck starts at $77,905.
In the fourth quarter, for commercial customers, there will be a $72,905 Silverado EV Work Truck available with a GM-estimated 350-mile range on a full charge. Also later this year, GM will have the $105,000 RST First Edition model for retail customers in production. It will get a GM-estimated 400 miles of range on a charge.
Next year, GM will offer both an entry-level Work Truck (previously priced to start at $39,900) for retail and fleet customers, and a Trail Boss version of the pickup. Prices and ranges on those models haven't been released.
GM isn't alone in upping prices. Ford Motor Co. launched its electric F-150 Lightning starting at below $40,000. It has since upped the cost several times to its current starting price of $59,974.
"We certainly saw Ford raise prices significantly on the on the Lightning ... so no shock there that the price is higher than what was originally anticipated," said Sam Abuelsamid, a principal research analyst leading Guidehouse Insights.
GM didn't specify when it will start delivering the launch Work Truck to customers from Factory Zero. Vehicles were originally supposed to ship out in spring 2023. Masica said shipments will start "in the near future."
Stephanie Brinley, associate director at S&P Global Mobility, said "it's not really unexpected for things taking a little bit longer than initially thought ... you're better off making it right than rushing it out."
GM is closing reservations for the truck Monday with more than 185,000 for both fleet and retail customers in the cue.
On the fleet side, GM said it has 350 unique customers with thousands of orders.
"We are going to be closing our reservations and then once we prioritize and get through the reservations, we'll open up to the normal ordering process," Masica said.
The electric Silverado will be built in Detroit at Factory Zero and eventually also be built at GM's Orion Assembly Plant in Lake Orion.
— Payload: 1,440 pounds, up from previous 1,200 pounds
— Towing: 10,000 pounds, up from previous 8,000 pounds
— Horsepower: 510
— Torque: 615 pound-feet
— EPA-estimated range: 450 miles on a full charge
— 11-inch center infotainment display paired with an 8-inch-diagonal reconfigurable digital display
— Standard DC fast charging capabilities of up to 350 kW enable the Silverado EV to add approximately 100 miles of range in 10 minutes on public DC fast chargers
— Seven outlets standard with 7.2 kW of offboard power, up to 10 outlets and 10.2 kW of offboard power available with accessory power bar
