Chevrolet confirmed that its all-new Class 4 and 5 trucks launching in late 2018 will be branded Silverado. The announcement came during Chevrolet’s Truck Centennial event, which kicked off a 100-day celebration of the first century of Chevrolet pickups.
“The first Chevy truck was built in 1918 for small business owners, and we have been expanding the market ever since because customers want specialized trucks that can tow and haul with confidence,” said Sandor Piszar, director of Marketing and Advertising for Chevrolet Trucks.
In the last three years alone, Chevrolet has revitalized the midsize pickup segment with the Colorado, launched a new range of Low Cab Forward trucks and introduced a completely redesigned 6.6-liter Duramax diesel for heavy-duty pickups.
John Schwegman, U.S. director of Commercial Product, said Chevrolet’s growth in the commercial market has moved in lockstep with the expansion of the brand’s truck portfolio. Commercial volume is up by 48 percent since 2013 and domestic segment share has grown year-over-year for the past 13 consecutive months.
“We are earning new business because we have more solutions to help businesses grow,” Schwegman said. “The Silverado 4500 and 5500 will stand out because we’ve designed the trucks around how customers work. They will be powerful, highly maneuverable and among the easiest trucks on the market to upfit with specialized bodies, such as dump bodies, rollbacks, freight boxes and more.”
Both the Silverado 4500 and 5500 will be available in Regular and Crew Cab models, with 4×2 and 4×4 capability and a wide range of GVWRs and wheelbases. Chevrolet will also offer these trucks with optional OnStar with 4G LTE connectivity provided by AT&T, which fleet management companies are embracing to help improve safety and productivity.
All Silverado 4500 and 5500 models will be powered by a Duramax diesel engine and Allison transmission, a legendary combination that has powered about two million trucks.
Allison Transmission, based in Indianapolis, is the largest designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions. Their designs have been used in a variety of applications, including construction, fire, distribution, bus, motorhomes, defense, energy and refuse. They have helped drive Chevrolet’s hardest-working trucks since the 1950s.
The first Duramax diesel engines were introduced in Chevrolet and GMC trucks in 2001, and since then have accumulated more than 100 billion miles of real-world experience.
courtesy: www.gm.com