Chevrolet Silverado electric pick-up delayed in the US amid weaker than expected demand

US auto giant General Motors has announced production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV at a new multi-billion-dollar factory has been pushed back by more than a year, as demand for electric pick-ups fades after an initial burst.

Unveiled in January 2022, the Silverado electric vehicle is a battery-powered version of Chevrolet’s popular pick-up – based on General Motors’ ‘Ultium’ electric-car platform which also underpins its GMC Sierra twin and the GMC Hummer EV. 

While production of the entry-level Silverado EV ‘WT’ (or work truck’) variant recently began at General Motors’ ‘Factory Zero’ in downtown Detroit (with the flagship RST due to be built later this year), the car-maker has now delayed opening a second factory in nearby Orion, Michigan until late 2025.

As reported by Detroit News, General Motors said the delay would allow it “to better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV [electric vehicle] demand”.

Though General Motors did not explicitly pin the production pause on low demand, the car-maker reported just 18 Chevrolet Silverado EVs as sold between July and September 2023.

Earlier this week, fellow US car giant – and GM’s arch rival – Ford announced it was cutting one of the three shifts at its Dearborn, Michigan factory which produces the F-150 Lightning electric pick-up.

Despite Ford citing supply chain and a backlog of quality checks as the reason behind the production cut, the The Wall Street Journal reported a sales dive is the true cause – referencing a memo sent to workers by a union official who voiced concerns about weakening demand for the electric pick-up.

The delayed start of production for the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV at the Orion factory comes after General Motors announced it would invest $US4 billion ($AU6.3bn) towards converting the facility to produce Ultium-based vehicles in January 2022.

GM’s Orion factory was originally built in the mid-1980s to produce petrol and diesel-powered Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles and Buicks, though it has been the sole production facility for the Chevrolet Bolt electric car since 2017.

With the current-generation Bolt going out of production at the end of 2023, the Orion factory will be converted to solely produce models based on the company’s ‘Ultium’ electric-car platform – such as the Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and the GMC Hummer EV.

Following the announcement of the delays at the Orion factory, General Motors said it would offer its employees at the facility to be transferred to Factory Zero, where it plans to ramp up production of the electric vehicles.