General Motors (GM) has announced that it will not be implementing Tesla-compatible charging ports on its upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV pickups until the 2025 model year. This decision was disclosed during a media briefing by Amy Masica, director of Chevrolet truck marketing. Additionally, GM has abandoned its plans to offer a base version of the Silverado EV with a price tag of $39,000.
GM recently joined Ford Motor in adopting Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), which has become increasingly popular for EV charging in North America. However, GM’s new battery-powered pickups are not currently fully compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network.
The first 2024 Silverado EV Work Trucks are now being produced at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, with deliveries to fleet customers scheduled to commence in the coming weeks. The initial model has a starting price of $77,905, excluding shipping charges. A more affordable Work Truck variant, priced from $72,905, is set to arrive later this year. Retail customers will also have the option to purchase a well-equipped Silverado EV RST, starting at approximately $105,000, around the same time.
GM plans to introduce a less expensive Trail Boss edition next year, coinciding with the expected release of the 2025 Silverado EVs. It should be noted that GM initially announced that the Silverado EV would start at $39,900. In comparison, the Ford F-150 Lightning, which is the closest rival to the Silverado EV, was initially priced at $39,974 but has since increased by $20,000 to $59,974.
Masica acknowledged that the conditions in the emerging electric pickup sector have changed but refrained from providing specific details regarding the pricing of future Silverado EV variants.
Derek Sequeira, a GM Energy executive, mentioned at the Silverado launch that the company will only have charging adaptors available for the electric pickups in early 2024. GM plans to eventually replace the current CCS charging port in its EVs with the Tesla-compatible NACS outlet. As a result, early models of the Silverado EV and other GM electric vehicles may require a different adapter to utilize the CCS chargers offered by GM’s existing charging partners across the country.
GM is also exploring the possibility of installing Tesla-compatible NACS chargers at its dealerships once its vehicles are equipped with NACS charging ports. These new GM chargers would likely carry the Ultium Charge 360 brand, according to Sequeira. During an investor conference in early June, GM’s Chief Financial Officer, Paul Jacobson, expressed interest in partnering with Tesla to develop future EV charger locations.
Source: Reuters
