Chevrolet is launching sales of the 2024 Silverado electric vehicle with three trims — two work trucks, or what Chevy calls WTs, aimed at fleet customers and a special launch edition for retail buyers.

And fleet buyers will be the first to grab the wheel of the Silverado EV featuring General Motors’ Ultium batteries, and engineered and built from the ground up.

The work trucks are less flashy and equipped and designed for basic and simple duties you might find at a loading dock or construction site.

There are two big screens: an 8-inch instrument cluster to monitor speed and other performance metrics located behind the steering wheel and an 11-inch display for audio, climate and navigation settings, stacked above the center console.

Without a center drivetrain tunnel, the center console and storage under rear seating is more abundant.

There are physical controls for volume, fan speed, temperature and air circulation.

While the auto industry becomes more virtualized with switches, Chevy says it’s important to strike a balance between physical controls and displays. Chevy customers have made clear they don’t want to go fishing for basic controls. Thus, the volume knob is front and center.

The shifter stalk extends from the right side of the steering column with simple directions: Down for drive, up for reverse and a button at the end of the stalk puts the EV in park.

The Silverado EV 4WT for fleet users features an EPA-estimated 450-mile range with a starting price of $79,800 including shipping.

The Silverado EV 3WT, also geared toward fleet customers, has a GM-estimated 350-mile range. It is priced from $74,800, with shipping.

In the fall, the Silverado EV RST First Edition will go on sale with a GM-estimated 400-mile range. Chevrolet said it will be targeted at retail buyers with a starting price of $106,895, including shipping.

The 4WT features higher towing capacity of 10,000 pounds, up from 8,000 pounds GM previously targeted, and more payload capacity: 1,440 pounds, up from 1,200 pounds that GM estimated initially.

The Silverado EV’s main rival is the Ford F-150 Lightning, which launched in April 2022. The Silverado and F-Series were the two top-selling large pickups in the U.S. in 2022 and again in the first quarter.

Chevrolet recently invited journalists to drive the Silverado EV 4WT, and we’ve collected some early reviews.

“The 4WT is a no-frills alternative to the Silverado EV RST First Edition that Chevy will release to the public this fall. That truck’s dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain will produce up to 754 horsepower and at least 785 pound-feet of torque, and it will feature standard air springs, rear-wheel steering, a removable mid-gate bed extender behind the passenger compartment, and upscale interior furnishings that better reflect its $106,895 starting price. In contrast, the dual-motor 4WT is spartan inside, rides on conventional coil springs, and does without the mid-gate and rear-steering hardware. Output comes in at a tamer 510 horses and 615 pound-feet.

Current GM truck owners will quickly acclimate to piloting the electrified Silverado. The 4WT moves along with the quiet refinement expected of an EV, with a synthesized hum playing through its stereo speakers only under hard acceleration. It feels as quick as any Silverado we’ve driven, with a responsiveness that makes short work of passing maneuvers on country roads. Even when hooked to a 9,000-pound construction trailer, the truck shrugs off the extra weight like a diesel-powered heavy-duty pickup. Activating Tow/Haul mode revises the programming of the EV’s powertrain for maximum performance, while the strength of its regenerative-braking system meant we barely needed to use its friction brakes when bringing the almost fully loaded truck to a stop on flat ground.

Aided by independent front and rear suspensions, plus a lower center of gravity compared to an internal-combustion Silverado, the 4WT’s driving experience is defined by its sorted composure. Say goodbye to the regular Silverado’s bump-induced wheel chatter from a primitive solid rear axle, and general maneuverability is quite good even without the help of rear-wheel steering. Though its soft suspension tuning and considerable body roll in corners keep you aware of its sheer size and mass, the Silverado’s steering is reasonably precise for a big truck, and its brake pedal is reassuringly firm. Add in the smoothness of the electric powertrain, and we often found ourselves traveling at higher speeds than we intended.”

— Mike Sutton, Car and Driver

“The work truck’s interior materials are basic: Vinyl-type covers meant to withstand years of work and dirt. The RST substitutes sportier, more expensive wraps, but the basic layout remains: A high-def instrument cluster and a horizontal touch screen. The Android Automotive operating system provides voice recognition, cloud-based navigation and controls many vehicle features. Despite using Android’s operating system for all that, GM does not plan to allow compatibility with the Android Auto or Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring apps, an early friction point with some potential customers.

The Silverado EV has no start button. It’s ready to go as soon as the key fob enters, a tap on the brake wakes up all systems.

The pickup is exceptionally quiet. Even the work truck, with minimal sound insulation, doesn’t allow much wind or road noise into the cabin. Passenger and cargo space are comparable to conventional full-size crew cab pickups, except for the flat floor.

The Silverado WT has an electric motor on each axle for all-wheel drive. GM won’t provide charging time using the 240-volt Level 2 charger most customers will use regularly, but the 200 kWh battery can charge at up to 350 kW from a DC charger, allowing it to receive 100 miles range in 10 minutes.

The steering is direct and nicely weighted. The work truck has conventional front steering, but passenger models will offer four-wheel steering for increased maneuverability and stability at speed.

Acceleration is strong and immediate, accompanied by a subtle sound generated to provide an auditory cue for increased speed.

The brakes feature two levels of one-pedal driving, the handy EV feature that allows the driver to select maximum energy regeneration when slowing down. I like one-pedal driving and found it easy to adapt to both. The system makes it easy to feather the accelerator for control around curves and when slowing down.

The work truck’s handling, power and comfort make me eager to experience the more powerful and luxurious Silverado EV later this year.”

— Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press

“With 510 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque from its dual electric motors, the WT isn’t quite as powerful as the upcoming RST trim (754 hp and 785 lb-ft) with its Wide Open Watts mode, but do you really need to win drag races in your work truck? With that instant torque delivery, it’s still plenty of output to get four-plus tons of Silverado EV hustling down the road in short order. And, yeah, you can feel that there’s a significant amount of mass low in the truck, but the WT’s passive coil suspension works hard to keep that weight in check. It’s not the fine-tuned ride we can expect from later, fancier versions of the Silverado EV, but with its unibody-ish structure and independent rear suspension, it’s not the jouncy ride you’d get from a body-on-frame setup with a solid rear axle and leaf springs. The low center of gravity further helped control motions in the rare corners we met along our route. Steering is quite numb and artificial in its feel, but at least there’s no slop on center, and weight builds helpfully as you turn the tiller.
Of course, regenerative braking is part of the experience. The Silverado WT doesn’t have shift-style paddles on the steering wheel to adjust regen strength, nor does it have a “Regen on Demand” lever. It does, however, have two levels of one-pedal driving, kind of like the Cadillac Lyriq. In normal mode, the Silverado EV drives similarly to an internal combustion vehicle, with natural-feeling off-throttle deceleration, and even low-speed creep. You activate one-pedal driving via an icon on the infotainment screen, and there are two settings: ‘On’ and ‘High.’ The regular ‘On’ setting is fairly typical for one-pedal driving. You rarely need to touch the brake pedal, but you might find yourself using it from time to time depending on the traffic around you. The “High” setting, on the other hand, is truly aggressive. Lift completely off the throttle, and your passengers will lean forward with a jolt, and you’ll stop quickly. To use it smoothly, you’ll be applying the accelerator more often than not, even when approaching a stop. It’s fun.”

— John Beltz Snyder, Autoblog

“The designers at Chevrolet made thoughtful design choices that cater to the practical needs of work fleets, ensuring the Silverado EV Work Truck excels in the demanding conditions it is designed for. One example is the location of the gear selector, which is mounted to the steering column and not on the center console. Doing so frees up more storage space in the center console, which is always appreciated as space and storage are essential in work vehicles.

Another example is the huge rear seating area, which offers more space than the other full-sized pick-up trucks available today. Flip up the rear seats and the rear cabin transforms into an enormous area for tools, cargo, or whatever needs to be transported to the job site. Chevrolet will also offer a variety of storage bins that can be mounted under the 60/40 split rear seats.

A spacious 5-foot 11-inch cargo bed with adjustable tie-downs stretches to a full eight feet with the tailgate down, eliminating any hangover with sheets of plywood and sheetrock. Additionally, integrated LED lighting enhances visibility during nighttime operations. However, the Silverado 4WT as well as all future versions of the work truck, won’t get the mid-gate option that opens up the rear seating area to the bed to haul longer items. Only retail versions of the Silverado EV will be able to be configured with the mid-gate, as well as the rear-steering option.”

— Tom Moloughney, InsideEVs

“Steering and handling are both trucklike, which feels like damning with faint praise, but hear me out: How agile do you want an 8,500-pound pickup to feel? The steering communicates very little and, despite a low center of gravity thanks to its heavy Ultium battery pack, the WT rolls into corners just like most full-size pickups with 18-inch wheels and lots of tire sidewall. It’s not meant to be a sport truck, though, so this is fine by me.

Braking feel is a bit mushy when using the actual brake pedal, but the Silverado EV WT also has one-pedal driving for those who prefer it. The one-pedal system can be off entirely, on or set to High. In High, the truck comes to a stop too abruptly for my tastes, though I was starting to get the hang of it toward the end of my brief drive. I preferred the basic ‘on’ setting.

I also towed with the WT, albeit briefly. Its maximum towing capacity is 10,000 pounds, and the Silverado EV WT easily handled a large tractor on a flatbed trailer weighing roughly 9,000 pounds combined. The truck felt stable at highway speeds and visibility was adequate, though I would have preferred larger towing mirrors for a better view. Range will drop by roughly 50 percent with this type of trailer and cargo hooked up, but that’s not out of the ordinary for electric or gas-powered trucks when towing a heavy trailer. Payload capacity for the 4WT is around 1,440 pounds.

The good news for owners is that the Silverado EV WT has an EPA-rated 450 miles of range on a full battery. Losing half that when towing doesn’t leave a great amount of range, but 225 miles sounds so much better than, say, the 160 you might have when towing with an F-150 Lightning with the extended-range battery.

The Silverado EV WT is also ready for the long haul with a maximum DC fast-charging rate of 350 kilowatts; charging at this rate requires ideal conditions and charging equipment capable of supplying this level of power, but in those ideal conditions, the Silverado EV can add around 100 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging.”

— Brian Normile, Cars.com

” Perhaps the greatest revelation lies in the truck’s turning radius. Surely something roughly the size of a small school bus ought to negotiate turns as such? Nope! Because of its lack of an engine and cab-forward design, the Silverado EV’s chief engineer Nichole Kraatz said she and her team completely redesigned its suspension and steering geometries to achieve a far smaller turning circle than you’d believe. It makes parking and performing K-turns in the WT much easier; it was so easy, in fact, that we originally thought the WT was equipped with four-wheel steering. (It wasn’t and won’t be, but the RST will have it.)

Finally, we’d love to give props to the electric Silverado WT’s unadorned interior. It’s an honest and functional one, with black upholstery and swaths of black plastic. It’s a welcome break from recent pickup truck trends that have them decked out to the nines in open-pore wood and buttery leathers. Sure, that stuff’s nice, but it can also feel too nice to get dirty. The WT’s interior empowers you to take on projects because a little scuff here and there won’t make a huge difference — you could argue it all becomes patina after a while. This truck is a work tool, and you may use it as such.

Both stuff and people will have a wonderful time spreading out in the WT. It’s a gargantuan truck, make no mistake, but Chevy translated that massive footprint into a palatial cabin. There are deep cubbies for front-row storage, and rear passengers are treated to scores of legroom.

Owing to the fact that it uses steel springs, the WT responds to road imperfections with a decent amount of porpoising. A cruder ride is to be expected of a regular, body-on-frame pickup truck, but the WT isn’t built on a body-on-frame setup. It also tends to bounce over bigger speed bumps and makes us wonder whether weighing down the bed would help. Still, it’s a nearly 9,000-pound truck, so there are only so many suspension trade-offs you can make; it’s by no means a dealbreaker. Fortunately, the RST version will use air suspension, so that will probably improve overall comfort.”

— Kristen Lee, MotorTrend