The 2023 Chevy Montana is a brand-new version capable of competing with the Ford Maverick. Despite the very American-sounding name, the Montana is actually a fairly old truck that’s been sold in Latin America and South Africa. The 2023 Chevy Montana ushers in a new generation for the truck, and here’s a look at if American customers will see it in dealerships anytime soon.

What is known about the 2023 Chevy Montana so far?

One of the significant changes Chevy’s making for the new generation of the Montana is its segment. The Montana has been around since 2003 and started its life as a coupe utility, which is not a type of car that’s been popular in America for decades. According to MotorTrend, Chevy’s turning the Montana into a compact unibody pickup truck for the 2023 model, which is a type of truck that’s popular in the U.S. 

Since it’s a new generation truck, Chevy will be changing a lot about the Montana. On top of that, Chevy is still busy getting the Montana across the finish line, so details are scarce right now. One detail that is obvious, though is its spaciousness. Since it will be a larger truck, drivers and their passengers should have more room inside.

This is where the 2023 Chevy Montana will be released

The new Montana will have a four-door crew cab option, which is bigger than the two-door option that’s on the older models. Details are also scarce in terms of its powertrain. It’ll have a turbocharged engine and a manual transmission option, but it’s not clear how powerful it’ll be. The Montana may have a small 120-hp engine, but it may also get a new 300-hp engine.

Chevy will unveil more details as the Montana gets closer to its release in 2023. However, another detail that’s known about the compact truck is the fact that it’ll be built and sold in Brazil. Chevy will also be exporting the Montana to other countries in Latin America and some countries outside of Latin America.

What that means is that it’s unlikely to be hitting American dealerships anytime soon. This is because, due to old American laws, it is expensive, if not impossible, to import cars to sell in the U.S. General Motors would have to make a lot of investments in America so that it can start producing the Montana at competitive prices and there’s been no indication from GM or Chevy that those investments will happen.

Here’s how the 2023 Chevy Montana compares to its competitors

Since the Montana is going through a significant redesign that involves making it larger, it’s challenging to compare it to the other compact pickup trucks in the segment. The Ford Maverick and the Hyundai Santa Cruz are currently the only two compact unibody pickup trucks in the American market. They have some similarities in terms of power and price. For instance, both are in the $20,000 range.

Both the Maverick and the Santa Cruz start with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that gets 191 hp, and both automakers offer a turbocharged engine option for their trucks. The Hyundai gets 281 hp, while the Ford gets 250 hp. If the Montana does come with a 120-hp standard engine, then it’ll be significantly weaker than the Maverick and the Santa Cruz. But if it gets a 300-hp engine option, then that would give the Montana an advantage in power and likely in towing capacity.