GM Authority spy photographers have caught GM rival Toyota benchmarking the Chevy Silverado EV in Michigan. At present, Toyota does not offer any all-electric truck models. However, the Japanese automaker does offer two hybrid pickups, specifically i-FORCE MAX variants of the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra.
The Chevy Silverado EV test vehicle that was spotted in Michigan was an example of the fleet-oriented WT trim level. GM Authority spy photographers captured the all-electric pickup leaving the Japanese automaker’s Ann Arbor Tech Center, and it was later seen driving past Toyota’s roadside sign at the facility entrance on its way to the nearby public roads.
Notably, the Chevy Silverado EV wasn’t wearing manufacturer license plates, suggesting it was sourced directly from a local dealer. The truck was seen with its rear license plate in the rear window, while the rear license plate bracket on the bumper had script reading “LaFontaine,” which is a Detroit dealership network. It’s possible Toyota is renting the vehicle, acquired it as part of a short-term loan, or simply has yet to finalize the purchase of the vehicle.
Toyota has been busy as of late benchmarking several other all-electric trucks beyond the Silverado EV, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T, as well as the Tesla Cybertruck. As GM Authority covered previously, Toyota was also recently caught benchmarking the GMC Hummer EV.
The official online configurator tool for the 2024 Chevy Silverado EV is now live. As of now, the RST First Edition is the only model available for configuration, with options limited to a handful of dealer-installed accessories and a pair of exterior paint options.
Per previous GM Authority coverage, the Chevy Silverado EV recorded 1,061 deliveries during the first quarter of the 2024 calendar year. The Ford F-150 Lightning remains the current leader in EV pickup truck sales in the U.S., moving 7,743 units during Q1 of 2024.
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Comments
Not a Toyota person, but do pay attention to their products from time to time. They probably need to focus on that 3.4L engine issue first before pushing out any EVs.
Toyota can’t make EV”s in fact their truck engines seem to drink some serious gas as well.
Hats off to the Silverado EV it seems to have it right. It can tow a distance and drive a distance. If the price was
less I would see if I could stretch that far.
Great, the company that has probably produced the most electrified vehicles (hybrids), but only has a Subaru derived EV (with poor range), is looking into producing a type of EV that makes the least sense. Makes perfect sense.
Too slow toy, too slow.
I’d be surprised if any of the big makers did NOT benchmark all the big makers vehicles. As a marketing guy once told me, we can lie to customers all we want, but WE better know what is going on with the competition. And another marketing guy at a different company would pay contractors to go to competitors training classes and generate a report. You have to know what the competitors offer to know how to best sway customers to your products, or worse, find out your product is simply noncompetitive and you need to add stuff like yesterday.