Business or pleasure? Chevrolet Silverado EV in Israel

Tesla was the first to declare the arrival of electric power in the large pickup truck category, but as usual, there was a significant gap between the announcement and reality. This allowed Ford to be the first to release the F150 Lightning, not exactly a dedicated electric vehicle, but a conversion of its long-standing workhorse to electricity. Ram and GM quickly presented their responses with fully electric large trucks.

Now, the Silverado EV lands in Israel as the first large truck to arrive here through regular import (after several units had already arrived via personal and parallel import). It is also the first electric vehicle from General Motors to be regularly imported to Israel, unlike the Hummer EV, which is also arriving in significant numbers via parallel import routes, and the Chevrolet Bolt, of which only a few dozen units arrived through parallel import.

Unlike Ford, Chevrolet bases the Silverado EV on the dedicated Ultium electric platform, which also underpins the Cadillac Lyriq and Optik, as well as the Chevrolet Blazer EV and Equinox EV, which have not yet been imported to the country. It draws power from two electric motors with a combined output of 510 hp and 85.1 kgm of torque. This enables it to accelerate like a sports car to 96 km/h (60 mph) in 5.4 seconds. It also has a towing capacity of up to 3.5 tons. The energy comes from a massive 200 kWh battery, which should provide a declared range of 720 km according to the American EPA standard, which is stricter than the European WLTP.

The dedicated 800V electric architecture means it can charge at an extremely fast rate, adding 160 km in 10 minutes if connected to one of the 350 kW charging stations, which are few in Israel. At AC charging stations, it can charge at a rate of up to 19.2 kW.

Initially, the truck will be sold in the "Work Truck" version, meaning it is not the top-end, luxurious version, and as such, it leaves out some of the rich equipment and technologies with which it was presented. In terms of equipment, this includes 8-inch screens for the dashboard and an 11.3-inch multimedia screen instead of the larger screens available in higher trim levels, and manually adjustable air vents.

However, it does come with compatibility for Android and Apple, split climate control with vents for the rear seat, a variety of power sockets (12V, 110V, 120V, and 240V) scattered around the driver's area, the rear seat, and the bed, allowing the operation of electric tools directly from the vehicle. On the technical side, features include rear-wheel steering, air suspension, and the ability to open the rear section of the cabin to extend the cargo area. Speaking of the cargo area, as it is 18 cm shorter than the regular Silverado sold here and with a total length of 5.92 meters from end to end and a 9.5 cm shorter wheelbase at 370 cm, its load-carrying capacity in the bed is also affected, standing at 650 kg, which is less than smaller 1-ton pickups like the Toyota Hilux and similar models.

The safety systems include automatic braking, lane departure correction, blind spot warning with lane change prevention, adaptive cruise control, rear traffic detection with braking, traffic sign recognition, 360-degree cameras, and the "Teen Driver" system, which allows limiting performance and receiving alerts for exceeding a set speed, among other features.

The warranty covers 100,000 km or 3 years for the vehicle and 8 years or 160,000 km for the battery.

Weighing a little over 4.5 tons, driving it requires a C1 (formerly "Class G") license, but on the other hand, since it is classified as a truck, you can deduct the VAT from its total price of NIS 420,000, which brings it to NIS 360,000. This is a price that is more expensive than large diesel-powered trucks and also in the upper segment of compact pickup truck prices, such as the Toyota Hilux, Volkswagen Amarok, and Ford Ranger.

Will the Silverado EV be accepted as a legitimate work vehicle and gain the trust of potential customers, or will it become a fashionable item for those who want size and electricity at half the price of the Hummer EV? Is this the ultimate electric tax shelter? Soon, we will know.