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The Design Director and Chief Engineer of the Chevy Silverado EV give you a personal tour of the all-new, all-electric pickup that will change the full-size Chevy truck lineup forever.
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Nichole Kraatz, Chief Engineer for Silverado EV
Ryan Vaughan, Chevrolet Design Director for the Silverado EV
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Video & Editing : Thom Cannell
Editing: Zane Merva
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0:00
Hi, I'm Ryan Vaughn, Design Director for Chevy Trucks
0:11
This is the new Silverado EV. We're really excited about it. We've just revealed it and I can walk you through some of the design features for the truck
0:20
We're really taking advantage of the fact that this was designed ground up and using
0:25
our Ultium EV platform. It allows us to deliver things that we really have not been able to achieve any other way
0:33
on traditional full-size combustion pickups. So from a packaging standpoint, we've done a lot of work to devote as much space as possible
0:43
to the occupants, to occupant spaciousness and to storage flexibility and functionality
0:50
which we'll see as we walk around the truck. Also the one thing you're probably noticing straight away is it doesn't look like a conventional
0:57
pickup truck. That, of course, is because it isn't. It's a full EV and we're really taking advantage of that by things like a very sleek front end
1:07
We no longer, of course, need a traditional grill. So we've taken advantage of that to really clean the front end up, very sleek and modern
1:15
and also really make the profile of the front of the truck more sleek as well
1:24
That actually improves forward visibility. So we're rounding the nose off, we're lowering the cowl so the base of the windshield has
1:31
come down. So when you sit in the truck, you've got great forward visibility and great forward down vision
1:38
We're showing this as an RST trim, RST model, and that includes things like these 24 inch wheels
1:46
So largest in the segment, low profile tires. This is more of a street or on-road truck persona
1:55
As we saw in the CES presentation, there's other versions of the truck that we're working
1:59
on like Trail Boss that will have more of an off-road rugged persona
2:03
You can really see too the sculpture and the form language that we're able to get into
2:09
this truck that's really beyond what we've been able to do up to this point
2:13
We're really excited about that. Just the drama and the sleekness and the modernity of the truck really comes through
2:23
So as we move around to the side, we can really start to get a sense of how we've reproportioned
2:29
the vehicle and really taken advantage of what the Ultium architecture is giving us
2:33
from a packaging standpoint. So for example, the front overhang is very short compared to what we see typically on
2:40
full-size pickups. And that's of course, we don't have a conventional engine, we don't have things like radiators
2:48
and charge coolers that we would typically have to package. So we're actually making that overhang shorter by moving the front axle forward and that's
2:58
giving more space to the interior. We're also actually moving the second row occupants rearward
3:08
So we've got more couple distance, that's the distance from the front row to the second row
3:12
That means more rear seat legroom and knee room. So even though the vehicle overall is really similar to the size of a combustion Silverado
3:24
there's more interior space available because of the packaging efficiency that we have
3:30
And that extends to the bed as well. So we have a 5'11 bed, which is the largest in the EV truck segment
3:38
And then we can go even further and expand that bed using the mid-gate, which is the
3:45
bulkhead between the bed and the cab. We can actually fold that down and expand that space and we can show you more detail
3:52
about that. So another thing that really drove a lot of the design and the appearance of the truck
3:59
is aerodynamic efficiency. That's a huge enabler to achieving our range and we're getting over 400 miles of range
4:07
And a big part of that is how aero-efficient the truck is
4:11
And we talked about how sleek it is, how smooth. Things like in a conventional pickup, you have a separation between the cab and the bed
4:20
Obviously here, that's completely integrated. Things like the sail panel, this area of the truck here, that was tuned very carefully
4:29
to improve aero as well. The wheel design, a lot went into that to make that as aero-efficient as possible
4:38
You notice it's enclosed. There are actually still some air passages through here to allow for brake cooling and
4:43
that sort of thing. A lot of work even on things like tire sidewalls
4:47
Just going through every detail to make sure the truck is as aero-efficient as it can possibly
4:52
be and we've been able to make it dramatically more efficient than any other full-size pickup
4:56
that we're aware of today. So as we come to the rear of the truck, again, just all about the functionality
5:05
Things like corner steps, they're nice and big, easy to get to
5:10
We've got our multi-flex tailgate as well with all the various positions that we're
5:17
used to that from, we've offered this on our Silverado already. So it's deployed here as well
5:26
And that really works with the mid-gate functionality too to deliver a lot of different cargo configurations
5:31
and flexibility. So the mid-gate has actually got a few different configurations
5:36
There's a lower portion, which is a 60-40 split. So we're seeing the 60% side go down now
5:42
So the seat folds, that side folds down. So in this configuration, you can fit something long in like a kayak, but you still have use
5:48
of that second row. You still have a seat for a second row passenger
5:53
Now that other 40% side, we can fold down as well. So we can do 100% that full pass-through folded down
6:01
And then there's one step beyond that, which is folding, removing the glass so that the
6:06
rear glass actually removes, it stows in a pocket on the forward side of the mid-gate
6:12
And then the whole mid-gate folds down to open up the entire rear bulkhead
6:19
So the truck is also available with various power outlets. You can see three of them here in the rear bed
6:27
There's another one located in the frunk, the e-trunk forward storage compartment, which
6:31
we'll look at in a second. There's a total of 10 power outlets capable of delivering 10.2 kilowatts of off-board
6:39
power, which is a lot. You could power something like a house or a campsite and a worksite
6:46
So obviously one of the major benefits of an electric architecture is we have a lot
6:52
of space available in the front of the truck. So this is our e-trunk, our frunk storage compartment
6:59
And we're really working to optimize the space here to make sure that we have as much
7:04
volume available for storage as possible. We've worked to really make sure that the load floor is as low as possible to obviously
7:13
make for easy loading. We've got tie-downs, we've got power outlets, we've got lighting
7:19
They're also working on a full suite of accessories as well, things like tool boxes and pull-out
7:25
trays to really maximize the functionality. Hi, I'm Nicole Kratz
7:46
I'm the chief engineer for our Silverado EV. And I'm going to talk a little bit about the interior
7:52
We redesigned this vehicle from the ground up, and the EV architecture allowed us to
7:56
do things that we haven't been able to do before. And so one of those things was reconfiguring the front compartment, the cab, and the pickup bed
8:05
So as Ryan just mentioned, we have a 5'11 pickup bed. We have the frunk in the front that you just saw
8:10
And now we're going to talk a little bit about the cab. We have a really great spaciousness
8:14
We've moved the second row passengers rearward and the front row passengers slightly forward
8:19
to make the overall length very similar to our current ICE Silverado
8:24
What that allows us to do is accommodate a 6' foot passenger, maybe even 6' tall plus
8:30
really comfortably in the back row. The fixed glass roof that's on the RST model allows for really great headroom and spaciousness
8:40
And so our occupants are really feeling this sense of spaciousness, openness, the truck
8:45
doesn't feel closed in to drive. If we go over into the interior, in terms of the front row, there is a lot of technology
8:54
in our Silverado EV. I'll go to the other side and point out some things for you
8:59
The first thing that you'll notice is a 17 inch display in the center, along with an
9:04
11 inch cluster. And we call this screen a freeform display because it really can integrate into the design
9:12
of the instrument panel itself. It doesn't need to look like, you know, an iPad that's just sort of stuck on the center
9:18
of the IP. We've done a lot of work with the center console, again, EV architecture
9:24
It really allows us to build this truck and reimagine the cargo flexibility for our customers
9:30
So we've got over 7 gallons of space in the center console with a console that includes
9:36
a moving cup holder that allows you to access all of that storage space down in the console
9:43
As you can see, we have done some physical switches. We've done a good mix of virtualization as well as physical buttons
9:52
So the HVAC switches are still sitting here. So customers that, you know, use things, that go and use things frequently can go ahead
10:01
and touch them. We have a volume switch still, but volume knob up in the left hand corner
10:07
And then on the other side of the driver's steering wheel, there are chassis controls
10:11
that are still physical switches. Now we also know that we wanted a cleaner, slicker look for the interior
10:18
And so some of those switches have been taken away and virtualized. But when we virtualize these switches, we still have a switch bank sitting on the screen
10:26
right underneath that volume knob. Those are switches that are always going to be there
10:30
They're persistent. They stay on the screen and they're available for you to use at any time
10:34
You don't have to search for them through menus. At the top of the screen, there's also reconfigurable apps that allow the customer to choose apps
10:44
and switches that they might use more frequently than others. So this is all personalized at the top in terms of what applications you want to see
10:53
and you want to use while you're driving your Silverado EV. And you can see the great spaciousness that our fixed glass roof provides as well
11:03
Now Ryan mentioned that we had dropped the cowl down and that the front overhang was shorter
11:08
What that means for our customers is really great forward visibility. So when you put that together with this great glass roof, it makes the truck feel really
11:16
open and easy to drive. Lots of great spaciousness. We've got a lot of technology sitting inside of this vehicle as well
11:25
As you can see, there's no push to start button. This is GM's first vehicle where you can have a key fob in your pocket or an enabled device
11:34
like a cell phone or a key card. All you need to do is open the door, get in the truck
11:39
Nothing needed to get the truck to start and be ready to drive away
11:43
You're free to buckle your seatbelt, type into your navigation screen and be on your
11:48
way very quickly. GM's also got, as Mary mentioned at CES, the Altify platform
11:54
What this really allows us to do is reconfigure and personalize the vehicle after purchase
12:01
There is not just over the air capability, but also personalization and apps that are
12:06
available for future purchase. And what this really means is that you can continue to reconfigure, personalize, upgrade
12:13
your vehicle over time and not have to go purchase a new vehicle to get cool new apps
12:17
and other features in your vehicle. The last big technology is of course important to us is safety features
12:24
The RST comes standard with Super Cruise with trailering that really allows a hands-free
12:28
driving experience on compatible roads. And it also senses when you have a trailer to enable Super Cruise while you're trailering
12:35
A little bit about the chassis and trailering. So the RST offers 10,000 pounds of trailering and 1,300 pounds of payload
12:42
It's a really great trailering capability for this pickup truck. We've designed some things into the chassis to make the chassis very capable and as well
12:52
really a great trailering dynamic drive as well. So our chassis has rear independent suspension, 24-inch wheels and tires, which is a first
13:02
for the full-size truck pickup market. We have adaptive air suspension and we have rear steer
13:10
And for those that are not used to driving a pickup truck that might be interested in
13:16
an EV and what this pickup truck has to offer, what we'll let all those customers know is
13:22
rear steer on this vehicle really makes this vehicle very nimble and versatile in terms
13:27
of being able to turn and the amount of control that it has even at highway speeds
13:33
Pulling a 10,000 pound trailer feels really amazing going down the road when you've got
13:37
rear steer helping you keep that trailer under control as well. Ryan mentioned earlier that the Altium platform, that battery structure that's been built into
13:46
the bottom of this truck and really the vehicle has been built literally from the ground up
13:51
The structure provides a really great vehicle dynamics performance. So a traditional pickup truck has that cab and pickup bed separated
14:02
It's got a frame with a body on the frame mounted through mounts
14:07
And what that means is a less strong feel of vehicle dynamics going down the road
14:13
This truck offers really great impact harshness, really great dynamics going over bumps in
14:20
the road. And so it starts to feel much more luxurious, much more strong on the road
14:25
This truck offers great vehicle dynamics and that's because the structural performance
14:30
of the vehicle is quite incredible. It floats over ride inputs, chatter bumps, it manages swells and it doesn't have a lot
14:39
of road input that you feel when you're driving in a traditional pickup truck
14:45
And that's number one because of the air suspension, but also we offer in our work truck a
14:50
coil suspension. The coil suspension is equally very commanding and very stable on the road in terms of those
14:57
ride inputs and it's really because of this Altium structure providing us a really great
15:02
vehicle dynamic feel
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