Automotive Engineering - February 2022 - 10

CES 2022
TECHNOLOGY REPORT
ELECTRIFICATION
GM unveils 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
The 2024
Silverado
EV uses a
unique vehicle
architecture
that limits its
cab/chassis
configurations
to one.
truck live at CES 2022, on the Las Vegas
stage with CEO Mary Barra.
SAE Media attended an in-person preview
of the $105,000 RST-First Edition
version and the decontented $39,900
WT (work truck) in Warren, Michigan,
hosted by the program's engineering,
design and marketing leads. While not all
of Silverado EV's technical specs have yet
been announced - and EPA testing won't
be completed until closer to the vehicle's
mid-2023 production - the long list of
details as we know them include:
Range: GM estimates 400-mile (644General
Motors has fired its first salvo in
the high-volume electric vehicle wars,
unveiling two versions of the 2024
Chevrolet Silverado EV that bring formidable
feature content, evolutionary
style and impressive performance
claims - along with some questions - to
what will eventually be GM's most important
product. The new pickup's
January 5 online debut, also the start of
customer reservations, disappointed
those who had expected to see the
km) range capability for both the RST
and WT models, under ideal thermal
conditions and duty cycle. The estimate,
based on analytical projections consistent
with SAE J1634 revision 2017-MCT,
is roughly 33% greater than Ford's electric
F-150 Lightning.
Barra promises $30K EV SUV by fall 2023; automated driving by mid-decade
In a January 5 keynote presentation
at CES 2022, General Motors
CEO Mary Barra did more than
unveil an electric version of one of
the company's profit powerhouses,
the Chevrolet Silverado pickup
truck. She also pledged GM will
build an EV variant of Chevy's
Equinox compact SUV that will be
in showrooms by fall 2023 for a
base MSRP of " around $30,000. "
That price point that would
make the 2024 Equinox EV only
marginally more expensive than
today's conventionally powered
model, which starts at $26,995.
" As our most popular vehicle
brand, " Barra said, " Chevy will
be front and center in our mission
to provide EVs for everyone.
We're at the tipping point
of electrification and we expect
this to be a massive year for
Chevrolet's EV future. "
The 2024 Equinox EV's projected
starting price suggests GM
projects considerable cost-efficiency
from scaling its Ultium
lithium-ion battery architecture,
as well as vehicle platforms optimized
to use the new battery
technology. The company currently
has large Ultium manufacturing
sites under construction in
Ohio and Tennessee, in collaboration
with partner LG Chem. Barra
also confirmed GM will build an
EV variant of the Blazer SUV
which will precede the Equinox
EV by coming to market in
Spring 2023. The company has
pledged to have 30 EV models
available globally by 2025 and
transform its entire light-duty
vehicle lineup to EVs by 2035.
She also detailed the Cadillac
luxury unit's ambitions to offer a
range of premium, expressive EVs
that include the " hand-built and
hand-crafted " Celestiq - and
presumably an eventual EV variant
of the brand's signature
Escalade fullsize SUV. " No other
automaker today matches the
depth and range of GM's EV portfolio, "
Barra asserted, adding
about the company's ambitious
strategy: " Make no mistake - this
is a movement. "
Barra didn't stop with electrification.
Speaking of GM's
ongoing and varied initiatives to
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the 2024 Equinox EV is targeted for
a base price of around $30,000, little more than today's ICE-powered
Equinox. Watch for a pickup spinoff.
develop high-level (SAE Level
3-4) driving automation. " We
are looking further down the
road at opportunities to extend
fully-autonomous vehicle technology
to personal transportation
with the safety and quality
our consumers expect. " She said
GM and Cruise - the company's
unit developing high-level driving
automation for rideshare or
" robo-taxi " applications - " are
gaining significant technological
expertise and experience. We
are working to be fastest to
market with a retail personal
autonomous vehicle. In fact, we
aim to deliver our first personal
autonomous vehicles as soon as
the middle of this decade. "
Barra said today's efforts and
the subsequent automated models
targeted for both commercial
and personal use will help create
economies of scale to help lower
the cost and increase the quality
of rideshare experiences and
bring the advance of driving automation
" to a much larger audience. "
Teams from GM and Cruise,
she added, will continue to work
together to create a range of
personal autonomous vehicles.
Bill Visnic
10 February 2022
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
FROM TOP: CHEVROLET; GM
Automotive Engineering - February 2022

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