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Future GM Medium Duty Truck

General Motors will launch Class 4 and 5 conventional medium duty trucks in calendar year 2018 as 2019 model year vehicles. As of October 2018, GM has confirmed the trucks for Chevrolet but not for its GMC brand.

Future GM Medium Duty Trucks Overview
Last redesigned model year: 2003 (Chevrolet Kodiak / GMC TopKick)
Expected introduction model year: 2019 (first generation Silverado 4500/5500)
Expected name: Chevrolet Silverado 4500, Chevrolet Silverado 5500
Predecessor: Chevrolet Kodiak, GMC TopKick
Expected platform: unknown, co-developed with Navistar
Layout: FR (front-engined, rear-wheel-drive/four-wheel-drive)
Expected models: regular cab and crew cab with various wheelbases and GVWRs
Segment: Class 4, Class 5
Gasoline engines: none
Diesel engines: GM Duramax Turbo-Diesel V-8 L5P
Transmission: Automatic transmission by Allison Transmission
Production: U.S. Navistar factory (possibly Garland, Texas plant)

Following is speculative and unconfirmed information about the future GM Medium Duty Conventional Truck. This page is a continuous work-in-progress and will be updated on a regular basis as we await official details from General Motors.

If you notice any inaccuracies about the information provided, have recommendations, or suggestions to share, please let us know here.

Confirmed Details

In March 2017, Chevrolet announced plans to introduce a “flagship, medium duty truck”. In the announcement, Chevy confirmed that the upcoming Medium Duty truck will:

  • Utilize a Duramax turbo-diesel engine
  • Utilize an Allison transmission
  • Launch in calendar year 2018
  • Be co-developed with Navistar, which operates the International Trucks brand
  • Not be related to the Chevrolet Low Cab Forward medium duty trucks sourced from Isuzu

At the time, no name was assigned for the vehicle.

The announcement also confirmed that GM would supply commercial components and engines while Navistar would provide its “expertise in rolling chassis configurations and manufacturing capabilities”. Based on the statement, it would appear that the upcoming Chevrolet Medium Duty truck will use a GM-sourced powertrain and other components, while Navistar will be responsible for developing other parts of the vehicle as well as manufacturing it.

In September 2017, Chevrolet announced more information about the Medium Duty truck, including that the vehicle will:

  • Actually consist of two vehicles
  • Slot in the Class 4 and Class 5 medium duty segments and be called Silverado 4500 and Silverado 5500
  • Be “powerful, highly maneuverable, and among the easiest trucks on the market to upfit with specialized bodies, such as dump bodies, rollbacks, freight boxes and more”
  • Be available in Regular Cab and Crew Cab models with 4×2 and 4×4 capability
  • Be available in a wide range of GVWRs and wheelbases
  • Offer optional OnStar with 4G LTE connectivity that is being embraced by fleet management companies to help improve safety and productivity thanks to tools like OnStar Commercial Link

Chevrolet also announced that all Silverado 4500 and 5500 models will be powered by a Duramax diesel engine and Allison transmission and that the trucks will “stand out because we’ve designed the trucks around how customers work.”

Expectations

We expect that the Duramax engine that will be used in the future Chevrolet Silverado Medium Duty Trucks will be none other than GM’s new 6.6L Duramax Turbo-Diesel L5P engine. In the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado HD, it makes 445 horsepower and 910 pound-feet of torque.

Chevrolet Variant

General Motors has confirmed that its new Conventional Medium Duty Trucks for the Chevrolet brand, with the vehicles being branded Silverado 4500 and Silverado 5500.

GMC Variant

It is currently unknown whether GM’s GMC brand will get a variant of the Conventional Medium Duty Truck.

Naming

Chevrolet has confirmed that its upcoming Medium Duty Trucks will be branded as Silverado 4500 and Silverado 5500.

If a GMC variant comes to market, it could be branded as:

  • GMC Topkick
  • GMC HD 5500/6500
  • GMC Sierra 5500/6500
  • GMC Sierra HD 5500/6500

Introduction Date & Model Year

GM confirmed that the upcoming Chevrolet Medium Duty conventional truck will “launch in 2018”. As such, the vehicles will likely be designated model year 2019.

Models

The Chevrolet Medium Duty truck will be offered as a conventional truck with an engine/hood-forward design and be available in Regular Cab and Crew Cab configurations in various wheelbases and GVWRs.

Pricing

We expect the future General Motors Medium Duty conventional truck to have a starting price in the $60,000 range for the work truck configuration and reach as much as $130,000 for the range-topping model.

Navistar Variant

Given that GM is co-developing its next Medium Duty truck with Navistar, we expect that Navistar will also sell a version of the truck. The final variant for Navistar could become the next-generation International Trucks DuraStar.

Manufacturing

The future GM Medium Duty truck will likely be manufactured by Navistar in the United States of America. One of the more likely facilities to make the truck is Navistar’s Garland, Texas factory.

Uses

Conventional Medium Duty trucks serve as platforms for a wide variety of commercial applications, such as traditional pickup trucks, emergency services, towing, dump truck, flatbed truck and cargo box truck. Some medium duty trucks are commonly used as a platform for both school buses and commercial buses.

Discussion

Discuss the next GM Medium Duty truck in our Chevrolet forum and GMC forum.

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