Ford and Chevy are notorious competitors, and the competition with each other has entered the electric pickup truck market. Ford has already demonstrated its all-electric F-150 pickup truck in an ad. General Motors, the parent company of Chevy, has in turn announced an electric pickup truck of its own.

The GM strike

In the summer of 2019, almost 50,000 automobile workers held a strike against GM. This strike was settled in late October, and one of the terms of the agreement between the union and GM was that GM would invest billions into the American automobile industry, including in the area of electric pickup trucks. 

This term of the deal is an attempt by the union to ensure that GM will have a competitive future in the U.S., as electric cars and electric pickup trucks seem to be the future of the car industry. GM isn’t a stranger to electric cars, as the Chevy Bolt is the best selling non-Tesla electric car in the U.S. in 2019.

However, unlike other automakers who have already announced an electric pickup truck or will announce one soon, GM has been very tight-lipped about its electric pickup truck. As a result, very little is known about what GM is planning for its electric pickup truck.

Will it be a Silverado?

Like Motor1 reported, GM has only announced that it’s making an electric pickup truck. It’s unknown if it’ll be based on an existing pickup truck like the Colorado or the Silverado, or if it’ll be a brand-new truck that’s built from the ground up to be an EV.

Motor1 gives a good argument for why GM’s electric pickup truck may not be based on a Silverado. Motor1 says that GM will have an EV platform that can be shaped into 10 different body types of cars. Although it’s unknown whether or not a pickup truck will be one of those body types, it’s a logical assumption that it will be. 

EVs built on a platform like what GM is doing will save money, and that’s an easy way to compete with other automakers. However, the result of doing this will be a loss in name value.

Ford is simply electrifying its famous F-150, but if GM just creates a brand-new electric pickup truck with no name recognition, then fans of the Colorado, Silverado, or other GM trucks may not end up buying it. 

Another reason why it may not be a Silverado is due to the fact that electric motors are great for towing things. A full-sized electric truck may not be necessary since a smaller electric pickup truck will likely be able to tow a considerable amount of weight. 

It could be a Silverado, though

Name value isn’t the only reason why it could be a Silverado, however. CNBC thinks that GM’s electric pickup truck could be based on the Silverado, or at the very least, similar to the Silverado. One of the reasons why GM may do that is so that GM and Chevy can stay competitive with Ford.

The Silverado is a full-sized pickup truck, just like the F-150 is. There are already mid-sized electric pickup trucks available elsewhere in the world, so a full-sized electric pickup truck would make sense.

On top of that, there are many reasons why drivers want a full-sized pickup truck over a more compact pickup truck. GM’s already serving that market with its Silverado, so it’s a logical assumption that GM will want to keep serving that market with an electric Silverado. 

But, because of how vague GM has been about this electric pickup truck, no-one will know for sure if it’ll be a Silverado or not until GM unveils it. CNBC says that GM will start producing this electric pickup truck in 2021, so a reveal should happen in 2020.