General Motors Co. is finally pushing into the heart of the electric pickup market with its Chevrolet Silverado work truck starting production this month.

The U.S. automaker has been ramping up its push into the EV market at a slow and deliberate pace. The company has taken its time building vehicles on its Ultium platform because of delays at its Ohio battery plant and making quality checks on new vehicles. In that time, Ford Motor Co. has ramped up sales of its Lightning electric pickup and Rivian Automotive Inc. has been building its R1T truck.

The Silverado will first be produced in small numbers as a work truck for fleet buyers with a range of 450 miles a charge, then for retail customers this fall at a price of about US$40,000 and with a battery that can last for 350 miles, topping Ford’s Lightning model by about 30 miles. GM already has an electric Hummer pickup, but that truck starts at $80,000 and sells in limited quantities. 

More competition is coming, though. In 2024, Stellantis NV will start building its electric Ram pickup, called the Revolution, as a 2025 model with anticipated driving range of 500 miles