This week at the Texas State Fair, Chevrolet said it is launching new Class 4 and 5 trucks "late next year" that will be branded Silverado. The announcement came as part of Chevy's Centennial Truck event celebrating a century of Chevrolet pickups.
Chevy pointed to its truck activity over the last three years, including the introduction of a redesigned 6.6L Duramax diesel for heavy-duty pickups. The forthcoming Silverado 4500 and 5500 models will all be powered by a Duramax diesel engine and have an Allison automatic transmission.
Based in Indianapolis, Allison is the largest manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions that have been used in applications including construction, fire, distribution, defense, energy and refuse trucks. Allison transmissions have also been found in Chevy trucks since the 1950s.
"The Silverado 4500 and 5500 will stand out because we've designed the trucks around how customers work," said John Schwegman, U.S. director of commercial product for Chevrolet. "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 4x2 and 4x4 capability and a range of gross vehicle weight ratings and wheelbases. The trucks will be offered with optional OnStar with 4G LTE connectivity provided by AT&T, which Chevrolet noted fleet management companies are embracing to help improve safety and productivity.
Chevrolet noted it would release full technical specs for the new Silverado 4500 and 5500 "close to launch."
The OEM also said its commercial sales are up by 48% 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.
