Now, Chevrolet is making an even more serious version of Silverado HD. Announced on the occasion of its 100th
anniversary in the truck business, Chevy is preparing to launch new 4500 and
5500-series models to compete with the Ford F-450 and F-550, and it will be
branded as a Silverado.
Currently served only by the Express van platform
and Isuzu-based Low Cab Forward line, the new Class 4 and Class 5 models will
put GM back into a segment where it last competed in 2009 when it discontinued
the Chevy Kodiaq (GMC TopKick) as part of its bankruptcy restructuring.
The manufacturer has confirmed that both the 4500
and 5500 models will be offered, in standard and crew-cab configurations, with
two- or four-wheel drive, and an array of payload capacities and wheelbases –
all powered by Duramax diesels and Allison transmissions.
What Chevy hasn't said, however, is whether a
consumer version will be offered with a pickup bed, like Ford does with the
F-450. No other competitors in the pickup market (neither Ram, Toyota, nor
Nissan) currently compete in the medium-duty commercial truck segment, leaving
Ford and now Chevy (with GMC potentially to follow) to compete essentially only
with each other in this class.
