Enhancing an Excellent EV Pickup
We’re big fans of the Chevrolet Silverado EV here at GreenCars. This four-door pickup combines a huge, versatile cabin, spacious cargo bay, enormous frunk, and impressive range and charging speed. Built on General Motors’ Ultium architecture, the Silverado EV was designed for electric power from the ground up, so it can take full advantage of the packaging benefits of compact EV motors and a large, flat battery under the floor.
If the Silverado EV had one failing, it was a limited model range – a couple of basic work trucks for commercial use, and a loaded-up, glitzed-out RST model designed for families, but with a very high starting MSRP. Now, for the 2025 model year, Chevrolet is expanding the model range to provide consumers more options, including a personal-use version eligible for the $7,500 federal tax incentive.
2025 Silverado EV Lineup
New models flesh out the Silverado EV lineup, which now consists of:
- Work Truck (WT) standard range: no EPA mileage estimate, $57,095 starting MSRP
- WT Extended Range: 422 mile EPA range estimate, $69,495 starting MSRP
- WT Max Range: 492 mile EPA range estimate, $77,795 starting MSRP
- LT Extended Range: 408 mile EPA range estimate, $75,195 starting MSRP
- RST Extended Range: 390 mile EPA range estimate, $89,395 starting MSRP
- RST Max Range: 460 mile EPA range estimate, $97,895 starting MSRP
It’s worth noting that the RST models, which have always been the top-of-the-line luxury editions, are different than before. Where there was once an RST First Edition with a 440-mile estimated range for $96,495, you can now choose an RST Extended Range with 390-mile estimated range for significantly less – $89,395 starting MSRP – while the Max Range version goes 20 miles further for a starting MSRP of $97,895.
Capable EV Work Trucks
The Work Truck (WT) models are designed for commercial customers to use for, well, work. They have smaller steel wheels, unpainted plastic bumpers, vinyl interiors that are easy to hose out, and a generally utilitarian, practical air. Priced attractively for fleets, they could help businesses significantly reduce their pickup running costs while also eliminating local greenhouse gas emissions.
While not lacking any modern tech, creature comforts in the WT models are pretty basic, as are the flat seats and plain cabin trim. These are trucks designed to be worked hard on job sites, returned to their depot, and plugged in overnight.
Given that use case, you may ask why there’s a need for a Max Range model with close to 500 miles of range; most work trucks won’t go nearly that far in a day. The answer, of course, is towing. Depending on the size, shape, and weight of an attached trailer, towing can significantly reduce an EV pickup’s range; the larger battery fitted should mean that, even with a 12,500-pound trailer attached, the Max Range model should still be able to go 250 or 300 miles on a charge.
Luxurious EV Pickups
On the other hand, the LT and RST models are designed for personal and family use. They have glitzier styling inside and out, and their luxurious interiors are in line with their much higher starting MSRPs – packed with high-end materials and high-tech features. The RST model in particular has huge 24-inch wheels, leather-trimmed interior, high-end audio system, and GM’s excellent SuperCruise hands-free driver assist.
Like the WT Max Range model, the loaded-up, nearly-$100,000 RST Max Range can go way further on a charge than most drivers are likely to ever need, but that extra battery capacity will be a boon for owners who want to tow a boat, a race car trailer, horses, or anything else their high-end hearts desire.
That said, we actually think the most notable and important model is the new LT Extended Range, which has a very good 408-mile EPA range estimate, ducks under the $80,000 threshold, making it eligible for the $7,500 federal tax incentive. It has a long list of standard features, and will go much further on a charge than a comparably equipped Ford F-150 Lightning. At $14,200 less than the RST, you get almost all of the capability and features for a much more affordable price.
Chevrolet Silverado EV: Conclusion
The Silverado EV is an overachiever in the world of electric pickup trucks, with dominant range, ultra-fast charging capability, and more space and versatility. Being designed as an electric car from the ground up shows its spacious cabin, its refined manners, and its intuitive technology.
The changes Chevrolet has made to the Silverado EV lineup for 2025 make a good product even better – and bring it within reach of many more buyers, both on the commercial and personal-use sides of things. We especially like the addition of the LT model, which offers federal rebate eligibility alongside most of the top-level RST’s desirable features, in a much more affordable package.
