2024 Chevy Silverado EV : Revealed!

With gobs of horsepower and torque, up to 400 miles of electric range and 0-60 times rivaling a Corvette, the 2024 Chevy Silverado EV has been revealed. Here are 5 things you need to know about the Silverado EV.

Before we get too far, let’s get some basics out of the way. The Silverado electric truck will utilize GM’s Ultium Platform, the marketing name for its battery technology, and it will have a 24-module battery pack. This platform is going to be the bedrock of all future GM EVs, and it was first rolled out on the GMC Hummer.

GM is also launching its Ultium Charge 360 for both consumers and fleet buyers to access more than 100,000 publicly available charging points in the U.S. and Canada.

No, it’s not an Avalanche 

Let’s start with the obvious. The 2024 Silverado EV could have really been called the Avalanche 2.0. If you recall that fan favorite truck, you will clearly see the front-end styling has the same look as the Avalanche and, wait for it: The mid-gate returns!

Yes, that’s right, the mid-gate. This was a design staple on the Avalanche allowing for the crew cab pickup to have a bigger bed by folding down the seats. Avalanche owners loved the versatility of the feature, and with the new Silverado EV, we see it return with the functionality of being able to open one side at a time and extending the 5-foot, 11-inch bed to more than 9 feet after opening the mid-gate.

Also, similar to other electric trucks, the front storage (aka frunk) is going to be waterproof and lockable.

Inside the cabin, the design carries over much of the new styling found in the updated 2022 Silverado 1500 as well as a new modular center console with a 7-gallon capacity, which is enough to fit a lunch cooler inside. Yeah, it is that big.

Finally, a 17-inch diagonal LCD infotainment screen sits prominently on the center stack with the 11-inch reconfigurable driver instrument display for the driver along with a multi-color heads-up display with a large field of view of 14 inches.

2024 Silverado EV performance

2024 Silverado EV RST

What’s an electric truck without an insane 0-60 time these days? Not this Silverado, it delivers a 0-to-60-MPH time in just 4.5 seconds. Fast enough to make you wonder if you are driving a truck or a Corvette.

Chevy says the 2024 Silverado EV will have up to 664 horsepower and 780 pound-feet of torque available in the max-power Wide Open Watts Mode on the RST. This max-power mode also produces the insanely quick 0-60 times.

Besides throwing you back into your seat, the Silverado EV will tow up to 10,000 pounds and have an estimated 1,300-pound payload on the RST model. Plus, you’ll be able to tow, and drive, hands-free thanks to the new Super Cruise system standard on the truck.

Chevy says the WT will offer just 8,000 pounds of towing, however, it plans to introduce a fleet truck with a 20,000-pound max in the future.

Four-wheel steering & more!

Filled with the latest in truck engineering, the 2024 Silverado EV should drive like no other GM truck before it.

First, another throwback feature from trucks of old, the new Silverado EV gets four-wheel steering. This is similar to the old Quadrasteer technology that died out in 2002. It is designed to allow the truck to be more nimble and make things — like parking and backing up a trailer — easier.

Next, the truck will have automatic adaptive air suspension, raise and lower up to 2 inches, and independent front and rear suspension. This should allow the available 24-inch wheels on the RST to have plenty of articulation off-road and the front- and rear-drive motors, making up the e4WD system, should deliver the torque independently to each wheel creating an off-road machine.

Plus, the bed features an available accessory power bar with up to 10 outlets allowing you to charge up your tools or power your house through the 10.2kW of power on board. You can also charge another EV with an available accessory cord if you need to do so.

Finally, GM estimates you’ll be able to fast charge up to 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes using a 350kW DC charging station.

Tech features, charging

2024 Silverado EV RST

While the performance and storage options with the mid-gate are the big highlights, there’s more to this truck.

For example, when a driver approaches the RST with a key fob or enabled cell phone, a distinctive lighting animation appears, and we can’t wait to see this in real life.

Plus, the 17-inch screen will feature a 3D animation, and it will have hands-free start. Yup, like other EVs, just hop in and the truck is on and ready to go.

Finally, GM is rolling out its brand new Ultifi application, a Linux-based software platform, to speed up software updates allowing the truck software to evolve over time.

Pricing & trims

2024 Silverado EV RST

This sounds great and all, but you have to be wondering how much? Well, it isn’t cheap right off the bat.

Upon launch in 2023, the truck will come in crew cab only and be available in just two trims at launch: a work truck trim and a RST.

The WT trim will debut in the spring 2023 with the biggest battery with more than 400 miles of range on a full charge. This truck will have a starting price of $39,900 plus $1,695 destination fees. It will not qualify for the $7,500 tax credit since GM reached its threshold in April 2020.

Base to base, this is fairly comparable to the Ford F-150 Lightning pricing, which starts at $41,669 including destination fees. (In case you don’t want to do the math, that’s $74 higher than the Silverado EV.) But here’s the thing that could make a huge difference for Ford: In addition to coming to market a full year earlier than the Silverado EV, it does still qualify for the federal tax credit. Of course, all that could change by the time the Silverado EV makes it to market because Ford is close to maxing out, and President Biden is working to add more tax credits for American-made EVs, including manufacturers like GM and Tesla that have previously maxed out.

For the RST, GM is going to offer a fully loaded first-edition model, also with the 400-mile range, at a shocking $105,000 price tag plus the $1,695 destination fee. This will make it the most expensive stock Silverado 1500 ever produced.

As production ramps up, GM will offer more trims, like a Trail Boss version, with prices starting around $50k and going up in $10k increments.

The truck will be built at the new $2.2 billion dollar Hamtramck Assembly Center, aka GM’s Factory ZERO, and reservations can be placed on Chevrolet.com.

The bottom line on the 2024 Silverado EV

This is exactly the truck we expected GM to bring out. It offers the latest in technology with the big hits being the return of the mid-gate and four-wheel steering. The 0-to-60-MPH time and the towing numbers should satisfy many truck buyers, while the six-figure price tag is going to be a source of discussion.

Lower trims should compete on price with the Ford F-150 Lightning, and this is just the beginning of waves of electric trucks coming to market.

Only one question remains: Are there enough truck buyers willing to switch to electric to make these large investments by GM pay off? That remains to be seen.

Originally Published at PickupTruckTalk.com

Tim Esterdahl

Automotive Journalist Tim Esterdahl has been a lover of trucks and SUVs for years. He has covered the industry since 2011 and has pieces in many national magazines and newspapers. In his spare time, he is often found tinkering on his '62 C10 pickup, playing golf, going hunting and hanging out with his wife and kids in Nebraska.

Related Articles

Back to top button