Only one Silverado for a year in new GMSV lineup

General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) has been officially launched this week, with a network of 54 dealers effectively replacing HSV in Australia and New Zealand.

However, there’s no news on pricing for the updated 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 – the only model that GMSV will sell until it’s joined by the Silverado 2500 and C8 Corvette in late 2021.

Instead, GMSV is inviting potential Silverado 1500 and 2500 customers to locate their nearest dealer via its new public website, where you can register for updates on the big utes and the new Corvette.

The 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ crew-cab is practically identical to the 2020 version launched by HSV in March this year, and continues to be ‘remanufactured’ to right-hand drive by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group, which is also contracted to convert RAM Trucks Australia vehicles at its Clayton facility in Melbourne.

GMSV says pricing and specs for the MY21 Silverado 1500 will be announced soon. The MY20 version was previously sold at $113,990 plus on-road costs and powered by a 313kW/624Nm 6.2-litre petrol V8 matched with a 10-speed automatic transmission as standard.

Key features include a 4.5-tonne towing capacity, tow/haul mode, trailer sway control, hill start assist, auto grade, cruise grade braking, hitch guidance, hitch view, integrated brake controller, trailer theft alert and in-vehicle advanced trailering system.

Safety equipment includes low-speed forward automatic braking, front pedestrian braking, forward collision alert, lane change alert, side blind zone alert, rear cross traffic alert, front and rear park assist, IntelliBeam automatic headlights, following distance indicator and ‘safety alert’ seats.

Other standard features include a Durabed tray with power up/down tailgate, cargo bed camera, LED cargo lighting, spray-in bed liner, 12 tie-down anchors and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Following the axing of Holden in February and the closure of its dealer showrooms by the end of this year, there are now six GMSV outlets in New Zealand and 48 in Australia – most of them former HSV dealers.

These include 14 in both NSW and Victoria, 11 in Queensland, five in Western Australia, two in South Australia and one each in Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

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“We have launched with over 50 GM Specialty Vehicles dealers and look forward to adding more,” said GMSV director Joanne Stogiannis in a press release yesterday.

“Our GMSV dealers are now open for business in Australia and New Zealand. We can’t wait to see the first Silverados being driven out of our GMSV showrooms.

“We believe there is significant opportunity in Australia and New Zealand for our iconic North American vehicles to compete in niche segments.

“We know that customers are eager to see what other products we will add to our portfolio. We will continue to identify opportunities to add to vehicles where we see the chance to compete in niche segments in Australia and New Zealand.”

RAM Trucks Australia is the full-size US pick-up market leader in Australia, with sales of its previous-generation RAM 1500 expected to top 2000 units this year thanks to petrol and diesel engines and aggressive pricing starting from $80,000.

However, the latest-generation DT-series RAM 1500 will be more expensive when it finally arrives here in a few weeks.

The V8 Silverado 1500 will be offered with a locally developed Walkinshaw Performance supercharger and joined by diesel and bigger 2500 versions.

While Ford has ruled out a factory right-hand drive version of its new F-150, leaving the door open for local RHD converters like Performax and Harrison F-Trucks, Nissan Australia continues to consider an official RHD conversion program for the Titan.

However, the dark horse in Australia’s lucrative full-size pick-up market could be Toyota and its US-built Tundra.

The Japanese car-maker continues to study the business case for a RHD version of next year’s all-new Tundra, which would be positioned well above the top-selling HiLux but considerably below all of its locally converted rivals.