The GMC Sierra HD family, which consists of the Sierra 2500HD and 3500HD, was fully overhauled (redesign and re-engineered) for the 2020 model year. Since then, the truck has been selling like hot cakes, with sales growing 23.2 percent to 73,777 units during the 2020 calendar year.
GMC Sierra Sales Detail - Q4 2020 - USA
| Model | Q4 2020 / Q4 2019 | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | YTD 2020 / YTD 2019 | YTD 2020 | YTD 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | +14% | 78,371 | 68,722 | +8.9% | 253,016 | 232,323 |
| Sierra LD | +5.3% | 53,176 | 50,494 | +3.9% | 179,239 | 172,452 |
| Sierra HD | +38.2% | 25,195 | 18,228 | +23.2% | 73,777 | 59,871 |
As well as the truck is performing in the marketplace, it’s not without a few downsides, which is why GM is working on a refresh. In fact, GM Authority was first to report that the Sierra HD will be refreshed, much like its Light Duty brother, one model year after the Sierra 1500. Today, we are bringing you the very first photos of the 2023 GMC Sierra HD refresh.
The prototype seen here is heavily camouflaged. In fact, everything to the front of the A-pillars and aft of the C-pillars is wearing a set of heavy vinyl camo. Going by the 18-inch steel wheels, this particular prototype is likely the Sierra HD trim – the base model within the lineup.
It also appears to be equipped with the X31 Off-Road Package, as per the knobby Hankook Dynapro MT2 tires, visible Rancho monotube shocks at the rear, and what seem to be underbody skid plates.
The front end of this 2023 GMC Sierra HD prototype features a set of placeholder headlights along with what looks to be a new grille. The rear end seems to retain the current model’s rear bumper, while gaining a new set of tail lights. It’s unlikely that the sheet metal on the box or the tailgate will change. The same goes for the BedStep, which was introduced in conjunction with the 2020 Sierra HD.
Even more importantly, the interior of this 2023 GMC Sierra HD prototype is completely covered, unofficially confirming that a new cockpit is on the way. That overhauled cockpit will feature an all-new center stack with a new screen running an all-new operating system.
It would not be completely out of question to expect an all-new digital instrument panel / gauge cluster, plus a host of other interior changes and improvements that should generally follow those of the 2022 GMC Sierra.
2022 GMC Sierra 1500 cockpit
As an added bonus, we’ve heard that GM is working on updating the powertrain lineup for the 2023 GMC Sierra HD. We’ll have more on that, later.
Expect the 2023 GMC Sierra HD to launch in the second half of the 2022 calendar year as a 2023 model.
We’ll have more about the 2023 Sierra HD for you shortly, so stay tuned and be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more GMC Sierra news, GMC news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
Please tell me they have replaced the seats (too flat, and firm) and installed Supercruise, , also improved brake and steering feel, other than that I have no problem with the 2020 2500 HD. For some reason the brakes took a step back with the 2020 model, not sure if it was due to the increased curb weight, or possible change in the brake lining material.
Rumor is they refreshed the engines too, but IMO that was not needed the bigger issue was comfort, and driving feel.
Bro, how many cars\trucks do you “own”? You have a opinion about everything they post on this site.
Only 3 cars in the household 2019 Audi E-tron, 2020 GMC 2500HD Denali, 2021 Tesla Model Y
I will agree with you on most things especially the seats but I would personally like to see them refresh the engines. Curious where you heard the engine rumor. The Duramax hasn’t been updated since 2017 and is getting behind the curve. Especially when compared to the Powerstroke as much as it pains me to say it.
From the article:
“As an added bonus, we’ve heard that GM is working on updating the powertrain lineup for the 2023 GMC Sierra HD. We’ll have more on that, later.”
Alex is the most well connected GM reporter I have seen so I trust the info.
FWIW, I love my ‘20 Silverado LTZ 2500HD.
Well thats makes me feel extra special today lol. I read the article but somehow missed the paragraph at the bottom of the page, glad you like your ’20.
While the Duramax may be slightly behind the Ford and Ram on the spreadsheet, in all honesty, driving it with the 10 speed, I am not sure where you could use more power (maybe in higher gears on the freeway? ) without becoming traction limited, even with a 14K lb trailer and 1500+ lbs tongue weight I sometimes spin the tires taking off on an up hill accidentally. First gear is low, and the throttle touchy. As we start approaching 1000 ft lb of torque, 50 lb ft here or there does not really change anything measurably, it’s really how to put that torque to the ground. Therefore, I think the interior and driving feel should be the priority over playing dyno war with Ford. With my racing background I know those numbers are just that… numbers, and do not determine the winner. I can remember many times going to races and hearing competitors that said they are making higher peak numbers on the dyno, yet we still won races, championships, and set world records almost every year. One thing I learned is the people who brag about peak power, usually do not understand what power does for them, and how to win.
There are a multitude of factors at play so I agree the highest numbers don’t always win the race. The Duramax has represented itself very well in the past even when down on numbers. That said the gap has now grown large enough that the Powerstroke in particular has a clear advantage. Case in point, In last years TFL Ike Gauntlet towing competition the Powerstroke beat the Duramax up the mountain pass by over a minute. Yes some of it comes down to a measuring competition but if your going on a trip through the mountains with your Ford friends and you can’t keep up, I’m pretty sure your going to wish you had more power.
No question the Ford out pulls the Duramax now, but as for the Ike Gauntlet, I do not know anybody who loads a truck to the max and turns up the biggest hill they can fine and holds it to the floor all the way to the top, this sounds more like durability testing, but not something that typically happens in the real world.
GM has a couple problems when compared to Ford, the curb weight on an options loaded 2500 HD Denali is higher then a similar equipped F250, which is strike 1 (curb weight went up over 400lbs from 2011 to 2020, which is one of the reason brake performance is not as good, in the latest gen the ford incorporated the Al cab and lost weight) , then being slightly down on power is another strike. For me though, and most HD buyers, we do not even read any of the jargon past trailer tow rating and payload. and in the real world there are not Ford’s flying past us going up the pass. GM has actually gained HD market share with the current generation HD’s, so their formula is working, and I think in typical driving GM has the quietest cab, and best highway fuel economy (not in the Ike Gauntlet)
Now, I am sure there is some small segment of the market which buys based on specs, just like in racing, people pick the winners on stated HP, but in the real world, this is a minority. I think the power level now is good, and would not want an increase if it hurt durability (it always does) or hurt fuel economy. Right now, Ford has better seats, and more features (adaptive cruise control, trailer backing assist), and more power, yet GM is still gaining market share… hmmm. Maybe the Ram is losing in the HD segment?
Truckz right on. It really is a “bro dozer” war in many cases. I’m there will be more power in the works. Though if I had to guess, the real reason the Ford won TFL’s Ike gauntlet is that GM trannys in every instance are tuned to float like a caddy. They really are reluctant to downshift. The worst part about that IKE tow was honestly that even though Ford maintained 50 MPH up the entire climb, the stupid radiator kept coming on. Seriously? All my vehicles don’t need any cooling power at 50 MPH. There’s enough airflow for that.
If I had to guess. This isn’t a 2023. It’s a 2022.5 released late this year, as it’s updates will probably be minimal exterior wise. The interior will be cut and paste from the half tons, so no R&D, no validation on interiors and the mechanical changes have been in the works since 2020. As for mechanical updates, 480HP duramax, 1050 ft lbs torque, with cylinder deactivation to reduce regen cycles,
For the gasser, 10 speed will be included as an upgrade on the custom and standard on the LT/SLE and up trims. 6 speed on the Sierra/wt trims. I’d love to see the trick cam from the 2.7turbo / 2014 edition 2.5 I4. If you read horror magazine, they are always doing engine builds with large displacement strokers, and it’s amazing what a high lift profile can do for you.
My ’15 can be reluctant to downshift as well so I’m sure transmission tuning plays a part. Do you have inside info on the powertrain? Just wondering where you’re getting your numbers from. That would be awesome if those are the actual numbers. Ford being Ford will up their output 5 minutes after it’s released if not 5 minutes before lol.
I have no inside info. Just reasonable guessing with the current historical trend. One thing I think we will see is the new dmax getting only a slight increase in torque, but a higher increase in horsepower. GM on the current 6.6 and 3.0 dmax’s have opted for a lower max torque and a flatter curve to make more overall power. The 3.0 is up on power down on torque compared to rams ecodiesel, and was the same with the 6.6 before ford’s 2020.5 YM superduty, with the dmax making slightly less torque, but more power. Given ford’s at 450hp, I think 470-480 is what we will see and about exactly 1000 ft lbs of torque.
I hope to see cylinder deactivation included, as lots of testing has been done on diesels using deactivation to keep the cats hot (less airflow=less cold air cooling the system internally) eliminating regen cycles and has the potential to eliminate DEF. While it reduces the diesel cycle efficiently slightly, it saves a ton of fuel as no regen cycle is needed. It’s a logical step given GMs history with cylinder deactivation
cylinder deactivation on a diesel? Sounds like a NHV nightmare? I will be interested to see that. I am not going to guess on the HP and torque, but I think you might be a bit high.
I agree with you on the early release though, I think Oshawa will come online with the refreshed model, likely just the high end trucks initially. I have said that before and gotten pushback from the regulars around here, but to me it makes sense.
Oshawa will only be building an HD Silverado Crew cab model. One only.
Is there anything you don’t do/are an expert at? Racer, towing expert, professional car reviewer, owner of tons of high end luxury auto mobiles and the point of contact for off road related questions. You sure have tons of time to write daily multiple paragraphs to many responses on a single thread over many threads. Kind of wondering what your angle is here, can’t tell if you are one of those me too guys living in mom’s basement or what. Certainly interesting reading some of your responses. Did I miss anything about being a pilot /yacht captain or maybe a professional athlete like an MMA pro?
OH my, there are a lot of things I do not know… No plane, no yacht, no special physical skills, I had fast cars as a teenager, and often broke parts and had no money, so I got a job at the speed shop so I could afford to keep my cars running, and make it through college. Things were much different back then, not so many off the shelf performance parts like we have now, back then if you wanted to make serious power, you had to know how to build parts yourself. Later life, I am a civil engineer by training, and own an excavation business. We do large industrial site prep, and some infrastructure work. I do not work in the field anymore, so I have lots of free time, some days.
I got to know people at GM Powertrain through racing (they were sponsors), but I also met a guy from Detroit that owned a large robotic tooling business (he also sponsored racing) . I was memorized by the machines that they they had in their shop, and the tooling they built, and so I visited Detroit a few times a year, and got to see them installing some jobs for GM and other automakers. I got to see how cars are built, it’s really interesting to see first hand. He sold that business to a foreign automaker, but remnants of the company still to this day do most of GM’s body shop tooling, all of Ram-Jeep, Tesla and others. Back then there were about 5000 people working for them, which is huge for a tooling shop, but now it’s a global business all over Europe, China, and elsewhere 10’s of thousands of Employees.
A few observations from the article, if “It’s unlikely that the sheet metal on the box or the tailgate will change” why would they even bothering covering it up? I like the aggressive tires but in my opinion they should be at least one size bigger to look right. What doesn’t look to small is those beloved towing mirrors, I like towing mirrors (have them on my 15) but never been a fan of the 20+ mirrors. I was hoping they would do something to make them look a bit less clunky. The mirrors themselves are fine it’s those dang door mounts. I suppose I can live with the mirrors as long as they get the interior right, I’m glad they are updating the HD’s as well but my impatient self wishes it was for ’22. I have been waiting for what seems like forever to update my ’15, I just honestly haven’t been inspired enough by the new model to pull the trigger. Hopefully the refresh in (gasp) 2023 will push me into the new trucks.
The mirrors are so big that combined with GM’s low A-pillar angle, they create a large view obstruction on the left side. If they didn’t mount the mirror supports low on the doors, you wouldn’t be able see anything when turning left at an intersection.
I think the fenders are being covered beacause there is a change to the side bed steps. (Larger/power folding for aerodynamics/etc) front is covered because of a larger more powerful engine and is being camouflaged. Maybe a new grill? But mostly hiding changes in radiation sizes/tranny cooler size/inter cooler size.
I agree, those mirrors are disgusting. They take away from the truck big time. I have a 20 Trail Boss and I hate the location of the mirrors on that too. They looked so much better mounted in the corner of the door / window.
The mirrors mounted down on the door still bug me. I thought I’d get used to it, but it still doesn’t make sense and doesn’t look good. There is no reason to have them there when you have a big piece of plastic right above the mount where they should be.
There are tons of reasons to have them there. It reduces wind noise, allows greater control of the aerodynamics and allows a better view between the mirror and pillar, especially as beltlines get taller. They didn’t do it for no reason, it is more beneficial up there (Ford also did some testing and called that out a few years back).
I would take wind noise over having to look at those mirrors. The mirrors and the cheap interior are the two things I dislike about my truck.
The Sierra HD is the most beautiful GM truck out there.
Its better looking than the Chevrolet, but not sure if I would call it beautiful?
Get rid of the cheap looking plastic wheel wells, plastic side bed step and square fender wells and i am with you.
I think they are getting round wheel wells.
If you guys don’t like gmc or chevy don’t buy one but I like em and does everything I want it to do with that said I push my Chevy before o drive dodge or Ford
would love to see 500hp & 1100 ft in the 2023 and new seats to hard on ass after driving 5000 miles
They Need more torque in the gas 6.6L and the 10 speed with that motor.
My 7.3L F350 10 speed is outstanding pulling 9000 # enclosed trailer
Quiet too with acceptable mileage and simple maintenance
You may not get the same fuel mileage as the diesel but with the diesel you end giving back what you save on fuel expenses. fuel filters, oil changes, def fluid and in my area diesel is 25 to 50 cents more per gallon. When parts start failing it will cost a lot more to own the diesel.
Rancho shocks on HD models are twin tube not monotube as mentioned in article. If it was changing for 2023, in this phase of development shocks would be black and likely take apart units.
I have worked on a number of tire induced vibration issues on GM HDs, specifically 65-75 mph smooth highway. I found out that in production GM match mounts tire and wheel uniformity on HD for steel wheels such as shown. In the LR tire shot I notice the small pink dot on tire sidewall does not line up with the yellow tag on rim which has been standard production process for match mount, someone lined it up with valve stem which is a tire shop practice. I hope this is a prototype build mistake and not a change in production process because I have a few fleets that will likely not buy any HDs without GM fixing this.
As for HD powertrain upgrades. Gale Banks is putting Duramaxs in JLTV vehicles and has done “Killing a Duramax ” YouTube. It can handle more usable power without durability issues. 10 speed Automatic for gas engine would deffently help.
Because 90+ percent (guess) people don’t need to tow 30000 plus pounds a smaller displacement in line 6 diesel w/10 sp. auto would handle plenty of needs better mileage higher payload. BRING IT ON GM.
If My 2004 3500 SRW ever dies that would be what I would want.
Now that you mention it. GM please bring back the 4.5 Duramax that was canned in 2008 with the bailout. It would be the perfect engine for a GM version of the titan XD, where I got a large trailer/welder I lug around but don’t need 1000ft lbs of torque or pull a 20k+ trailer. Could pair it to the non Allison 10 speed as it make similar torque to the Camaro ZL1.
Are they really selling like hotcakes? I wonder what the sales number for 2018 models are. Many buyers may have held off buying a 2019 so they could get the 2020.
They sit on dealer lots for less than a week. That’s hotcake sales.
All of you guys do you all think GM might ditch the column shifter on their heavy duty trucks like the Silverado HD or the GMC Sierra HD? What do you guys think?