EV frees up Silverado design; gasoline version debuts ZR2

DETROIT — The Chevrolet Silverado's upcoming electric propulsion system allows the vehicle to have a different design than the gasoline version, a top General Motors executive said last week.

The Silverado EV, which forecasters expect to go on sale in 2023, won't necessarily be a derivative of today's pickup, GM North America President Steve Carlisle told Automotive News when announcing a freshened version of the gasoline-powered Silverado.

"With the freedom and the latitude that we have to do something that's ground-up, we see it as more of a white-space opportunity than we see it as an extension of the current lineup," he said.

The flexibility of the Ultium battery platform removes the architectural limits that internal combustion vehicles have, Carlisle said.

"You should expect different dimensions and different packaging, for instance," he said. "We're not constrained to the same kind of constructions as we are today."

For now, Chevy is preparing to launch the freshened version of the gasoline-powered Silverado for the 2022 model year. It is slated to go on sale in the spring and will have a ZR2 off-road variant, optional Super Cruise driver-assist technology and a revamped interior.

The pickup will be the first Silverado to come in a ZR2 package. Of all Silverado sales, 60 percent are off-road variants — 30 percent are Z71 and 30 percent are the Trailboss trim, Chevy said.

With the off-road options, Chevy is "continuing to increase the breadth and depth" of its pickup portfolio, Carlisle said.