Chevrolet has just revealed the Silverado EV. The fully electric pickup truck has a max range of up to 640 km on a charge and Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance, but what has us more interested is the return of one of the best pickup features of the past 20 years: the Midgate.
The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV rides on GM's Ultium architecture. Unlike the Ford F-150 Lightning, which is largely the standard F-150 underneath, GM says this was developed from the ground up as an electric vehicle on that EV-exclusive platform shared with the Hummer EV.
The Silverado EV is still a full-size pickup, with a 5,918-mm length making it just slightly longer than a crew-cab short-bed Silverado 1500. It will also have up to 10,000 lbs of trailering capacity and 1,300 lbs of payload, which doesn't top the gas trucks but is certainly competitive in the segment. More impressive is the 660 hp and 780 lb-ft of torque offered in what Chevrolet is calling Wide Open Watts (yes, they're using WOW to try to one-up Tesla's Ludicrous Mode) max power mode.
Two versions of the truck will be offered, the consumer-focused RST and the commercial fleet-ready WT. The fleet truck will actually arrive first, hitting the market in the spring of 2023. It will launch with the same 640 km range of the RST as well as 350-kW charging but will start with 510 hp and 615 lb-ft, accompanied by 8,000 lbs towing and 1,200 lbs payload.
After the initial launch, Chevrolet says a Max Tow version of the WT truck will be made available that can tow up to an HD-level 20,000 lbs. Lower-range trucks will also hit later in the year, starting from $52,448, with no price given for long-range WT launch.
Back to the RST, which will launch in fall 2023 with the fully loaded $120,000 First Edition. It's a big buck truck, but it will get features like four-wheel steering and automatic adaptive air suspension with height adjustment. It will also have a fixed glass roof and offer Super Cruise hands-off driver assistance (with trailering capability).
Our favourite feature, though, is the return of the midgate. The open cab first seen on the late Chevrolet Avalanche lets you drop the back of the cab and open the glass to extend the length of cargo you can fit in the box. With mid and tailgates closed, the truck has a six-foot box. Open the midgate, and it will take nine feet, and with the midgate open and tailgate open to the load stop position, there is just shy of 11 feet of length for cargo.
Inside, the Silverado EV RST First Edition will have a giant 17-inch infotainment screen as well as an 11-inch configurable digital dashboard. Lower trim trucks get an 11-inch display with an 8.0-inch dashboard. Up to 10 outlets will be offered, providing 10.2 kW of power to run wall-plug appliances and accessories or to charge another EV.
Chevrolet's timeline for the Silverado EV is to launch the WT in the spring of 2023 followed by RST in the fall, both as 2024 model year vehicles. More versions will follow, but no timeline was given. Reservations open today for 2024 and 2025 model year trucks, with a $100 deposit to put you on the list.
In addition to the pickup truck, the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV and 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV were also announced. The Equinox EV, pictured below, will be priced on the lower end and is billed as "an affordable, functional compact SUV," but no other information was revealed.
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