General Motors will expand its all-electric commercial lineup with a new battery-powered Medium Duty Chevy truck.
In a recent call with investors, General Motors CEO Mary Barra confirmed that the new all-electric Medium Duty Chevy truck will be released in conjunction with a forthcoming all-electric Chevy van as a complement to the automaker’s BrightDrop commercial fleet.
“Both [the all-electric Chevy truck and all-electric Chevy van] will complement BrightDrop and keep our commercial fleet market share growing,” Barra said. “We’ll share more details about these products as we move forward.”
Although Barra declined to provide any details, the new all-electric Medium Duty Chevy truck is expected to launch some time after the 2025 calendar year.
In addition to running GM’s latest Ultium battery technology, the upcoming Medium Duty Chevy truck is also expected fo offer the automaker’s Hydrotec fuel cell technology. The new trucks could be used for service and utility vehicles, such as school buses.
The upcoming models will complement BrightDrop, GM’s latest all-electric delivery business. Initially announced at the Consumer Electronics Show, BrightDrop’s first product to market will be the EP1, an electrically-assisted pallet that allows for easy transportation of heavy goods over short distances. BrightDrop will also offer the EV600, an all-electric light commercial van.
At the moment, the Chevy Silverado Medium Duty truck line includes the Silverado 4500HD, 5500HD, and 6500HD, developed in collaboration with Navistar. As GM Authority covered previously, the best-selling Silverado MD variant for the 2021 model year is the 2021 Chevy Silverado 5500HD 4×4 Crew Cab WT, continuing the popularity of the configuration from the 2020 model year. The second best-selling configuration is the 5500HD 4×4 Regular Cab WT.
So far, Chevy Silverado MD sales are up, as are sales for the rest of the Silverado lineup, including Heavy Duty and Light Duty models. Medium Duty truck sales for Q2 of the 2021 calendar year are reported at 3,025 units, an increase of 79.2 percent compared to Q2 of 2020.
Chevrolet Silverado Sales Detail - Q2 2021 - USA
| Model | Q2 2021 / Q2 2020 | Q2 2021 | Q2 2020 | YTD 2021 / YTD 2020 | YTD 2021 | YTD 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | +34.5% | 164,731 | 122,432 | +9% | 291,322 | 267,166 |
| Silverado LD | +31.1% | 117,275 | 89,465 | +2.8% | 207,980 | 202,390 |
| Silverado HD | +42% | 44,431 | 31,279 | +26.4% | 78,430 | 62,052 |
| Silverado MD | +79.2% | 3,025 | 1,688 | +80.3% | 4,912 | 2,724 |
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Comments
More importantly, GM needs to offer a gas engine for the MD line.
My customers all drive big trucks and guess what…they laugh at the idea of an EVT. Not practical for running day and night
The need for quick battery swap similar to Nio of China and others is the only way electric could be useful to many commercial fleets .
Any opinions on Why is there no movement towards a hybrid truck in either light or medium duty? Electric drive with a gas/diesel generator to extend the range?
GM has been doing diesel electric for a long time, can’t that crossover to lighter trucks ?
I know you remember back in 2007 gm had the 2 Mode Hybrid Powertrain in its Full Sized Trucks and SUV’s. The setback was that the Fuel Economy was a near match to their 5.3 Liter Regular V8 which turned out to be unpopular rather quickly. One would think with the success of the 2.7 Liter 4 along with the latest Ultium Battery Powertrain, the “Room For Improvement ” for an updated Hybrid System would be in spotlight. Perhaps gm has a different path that they’d rather pursue other than what RAM and Ford is doing with the use of their Hybrid Powertrains.
Barra declined to provide any details. That should answer all your questions.
School busses are a great use of EV’s, they drive short distances a couple times a day, with lots of stop and go (EV’s excel at low speeds, short distances, and stop and go) If they can build a cost competitive school bus, this will be a huge benefit, and drivers will love them, being able to 1 pedal driving with all the stop and go would be nice.
Being quiet will also let them hear around the bus for any approaching vehicles or maybe kids that get into blind spots.
This is a good move. Most medium duty trucks run fixed routes and return to the same locating, so hydrogen refueling is viable option near term. In the meantime, Chevy needs a gasoline option for the Silverado medium duty. Also hearing a class 7 truck with Navistar is still in the works.
Utter BS, greenies have taken control & it’s BS. Where does the electricity come from these vehicles are plugged into? How is that generated & converted to electricity? Where do the batteries go once they’ve reached their life expectancy?
The batteries will be recycled! You definitely have a lot to learn about evs!
Batteries that reach end of life for driving still hold a significant amount of charge.
Many find uses in battery backup use cases for utilities or buildings.
More info on Hydrogen Please !!!!!