GM unveils electric Chevrolet Silverado with 644 kilometres of range

The Chevrolet Silverado EV can go 644 kilometres on a full charge. It enters a crowded market for electric trucks with competition from Ford, Rivian, and Tesla. (General Motors)

The Silverado EV unveiled during CES had a 5-foot, 11-inch cargo bed. It also had the "Multi-Flex" tailgate available on today's gas-powered Silverados. The complex tailgate has various extensions that can be opened or unfolded to allow for carrying longer cargo or for use as steps. The rear wall of the truck's passenger cab can also be folded down creating an opening into the bed, which is similar to a feature on the Chevrolet Avalanche, an SUV-like truck GM offered until 2013. The back wall can open entirely or just in sections.

Like other EV pickups such as the F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T, the Silverado EV has a large front trunk, or "frunk" as it's commonly known. The E-Trunk -- GM's name for it -- also contains various power ports and plugs to power equipment. Counting plugs in the front trunk and the bed, the Silverado EV could be equipped with up to 10 power outlets, a similar tally to Ford's electric truck. Besides powering equipment, the Silverado EV can also be used to charge up other electric vehicles, which Ford's truck can also do.

The Silverado's frunk opens all the way down to the front bumper, similar the front opening on Ford's Lightning pickup. That makes it easier to load and unload cargo, or even to use the frunk as a work desk. Rivian's frunk, by contrast, is essentially a large hole under the hood which requires items be lifted up high to be put in or removed from it.

Besides being available with four-wheel-drive the Silverado EV will also offer optional four-wheel steering. By turning the back wheels in the opposite direction from the front wheels, this allows the truck to make tight turns at low speeds. This is another feature that GM had offered on gas-powered pickups in the past that has reappeared on the Silverado EV. This Silverado EV will also be able to raise and lower itself up to two inches in either direction.

The Silverado EV will initially be available in two vastly different versions. The Silverado EV WT, which stands for Work Truck, will be a fairly bare-bones truck intended for commercial fleet customers. GM says it will go into production in the spring of 2023 at prices starting at about US$40,000. It won't be available with the fold-down rear cab wall and it will have a matte black front end where a grille would ordinarily be. A few months later, GM says it will start production of fully optioned Silverado RST trucks with prices starting at over US$100,000. A more off-road capable "Trail Boss" version will also be available later, GM CEO Mary Barra said in a presentation.

According to GM, other versions of the truck, including a "Trail Boss" off-road-oriented truck, will come later. GM has also promised new Chevrolet SUVs, including an Equinox EV, with prices starting around US$30,000.