GM CEO Mary Barra introduced the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV virtually at CES 2022 on Wednesday while teasing an ambitious slate of other electric and autonomous vehicles for coming years such as the EV Equinox and Blazer.
“No other automaker today matches the depth and range of our portfolio,” she declared in a keynote address. “The all-electric future is truly for everyone.”
The Silverado EV will compete against the Ford F-150 Lighting pickup and will start at $39,900 for a work truck model and up to $105,000 for a high-end model. Ford’s model is expected this spring for $39,974, while the Silverado work truck will sell in spring of 2023 and the Siverado EV RST model goes on sale next fall.
GM is on pace to fully transition to EVs by 2035. The Silverado will offer 400-mile range on a full charge. The RST will have 664 horsepower with the ability to go from 0-60 mph in less than 4.5 seconds. It will have standard DC fast charging up to 350 kW. The RST will feature four-wheel steering an a 17-inch LCD infotainment screen. (Other details are on the Chevrolet website. )
Barra also described Silverado’s development from the GM Ultium EV Platform, first announced in 2020. Ultium is GM’s battery technology, also used in the GMC Hummer EV pickup and the BrightDrop EV600, a delivery vehicle, which were delivered to some customers late in 2021. Ultium will power the Cadillac Lyriq later in 2022.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV SUV is estimated to cost $30,000 when available in 2023, bringing it into a lower price range that analysts believe will boost EV sales. The Chevrolet Blazer EV SUV will also be available in 2023.
Barra also said its Bright Drop brand of EV delivery vehicles will be used by FedEx and Walmart, while Enterprise and Quanta have made orders for the Silverado EV.
She also said that GM and Cruise are working on a personal autonomous vehicle to be available in mid-decade.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride platform for ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Technology) will be used with GM software for a compute architecture for Ultra Cruise, a system for door-to-door hands free driving entering production in 2023. Ultra Cruise will have the processing capability of several hundred PCs, but will be the size of two laptops when used in the Ultium-based Cadillac Celestiq sedan.
Barra also introduced the Halo Concept portfolio under its Cadillac brand. They include Inner Space and OpenSpace autonomous vehicles. They build on the PersonalSpace vertical takeoff and landing vehicle and the SocialSpace personal AV introduced at CES last year. All four concepts will rely on both Ultium EV and Ultifi software for autonomous driving.
RELATED: Electric vehicles still face consumer concerns over price and charging woes