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Chevrolet Silverado 1500 coming to HSV showrooms early 2020

The hugely popular Ram 1500 pick-up is about to get a new rival from within.


Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) is about to ramp up production of the new generation Chevrolet Silverado 1500 in right-hand drive – on an adjacent assembly line under the same Melbourne roof where the Ram 1500 is being converted 24 hours a day.

A pre-Christmas email sent out by HSV to its fan base promised “big things to come in 2020” with a photo of the new generation Chevrolet Silverado 1500’s distinctive headlights.

Drive understands a small number of pilot build vehicles are going through the pre-assembly process to validate the more than 300 new parts required for the local right-hand-drive conversion.

The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 will be available at HSV’s 65 showrooms across Australia from before the middle of next year. If all goes to plan, the first vehicles should arrive in dealerships in April 2020.

Price and details are yet to be announced but Drive understands the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 will cost more than the Ram 1500, which starts from $79,950 drive-away.

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is expected to have a starting price close to or in excess of $100,000 drive-away given the expected extra standard equipment and the higher production cost of a new generation model.

HSV dealers have told Drive the petrol V8 will launch first in Australia before a staggered introduction of a diesel option.

While a diesel is available as an option on the rival Ram 1500, the petrol-powered Hemi V8 represents the overwhelming majority of sales locally. 

The HSV email to its fan base added: “After 32 years, we still relish in producing vehicles that excite and define what it is to be alive. We’re looking forward to launching big things in 2020.”

Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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