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An all-wheel drive Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra\u00a0powered by the new\u00a03.0-liter V-6 Duramax diesel gets\u00a025 mpg, which\u00a0is 30%\u00a0more efficient that its gasoline kin. Their range on a full tank of diesel is 600 miles, which is 144 miles more than a comparable gasoline V-8 model. Range is a key attribute for large vehicles buyers who tow for work and family trips.<\/p>\n
The diesel Tahoe and Suburban SUVs,\u00a0based on the same chassis as the Silverado, are expected to post similar fuel economy when they debut later this year.<\/p>\n
The Silverado diesel variant comes with about a $5,000 premium over the gasoline V-8. For example, an AWD Silverado LT costs $50,900 versus $45,590 for a V-8-powered Silverado in the same trim-level.<\/p>\n
That compares to a typical $15,000-plus premium for electric vehicles over similar gas-engine vehicles. A battery-powered Chevy Bolt, for example, costs about $15,000\u00a0north of a comparable $21,000 Chevy Sonic hatch;\u00a0a Subaru Crosstrek plug-in costs\u00a0$36,000 vs. a $22,000\u00a0gas-fueled Crosstrek.<\/p>\n
The premium gets even steeper in large SUVs and pickups. Plymouth-based Rivian will debut its 230-mile range electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV later this year starting at $70,000. Rivian promises a\u00a0400-mile range vehicle,\u00a0but that is expected to list well over $100,000.<\/p>\n
“Electrification may be the wave of the future,\u201d says Diesel Technology Forum Executive Director Allen Schaeffer. \u201cBut so far it\u2019s not bearing out in the market. GM recognizes that you have to have vehicles that customers can buy.\u201d<\/p>\n
GM also recognizes it won\u2019t be able to sell in high-volume, so-called \u201czero-emission states\u201d unless they make EVs available. The 10 states \u2014 including California, the biggest U.S.\u00a0market \u2014 are forcing automakers\u00a0to electrify 7-10% of their products by 2025. That’s within the current vehicle production cycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s little natural demand for EVs because they’re not a better, more convenient solution to transportation than gas engines,\u201d says veteran auto analyst Rebecca Lindland of RebeccaDrives.com. \u201cRegulations are driving the move to EVs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindland says automakers \u2014 while investing short-term in proven diesel technology\u00a0\u2014 are hoping there’s\u00a0a demographic shift. They are betting that millennials will be interested in environmentally friendly trucks, especially buyers who aren’t\u00a0 utilizing their full capabilities as workhorses.<\/p>\n
The generational shift is also a calculation of Tesla, which recognizes truck volume as key to its goal of flipping the industry to \u201csustainable transportation.\u201d Currently, Tesla sedans and Model X SUV make up nearly 80% of U.S. EV sales \u2014 which are only 1.8% of the total market according to InsideEVs.com.<\/p>\n
Unlike Rivian, Bollinger and other upcoming pickup offerings, Tesla\u00a0promises that its pickup will start at a competitive $40,000. But it will have a range of\u00a0250 miles, just 40%\u00a0of a\u00a0Chevy truck.<\/p>\n
Also complicating the electric-truck calculation is the stress of towing on battery range: Truck-testing authority TFLTruck.com, for example, has found that the Tesla Model X SUV only gets 30%\u00a0of its range when towing 2,000 pounds.<\/p>\n
The F-150 has been the biggest diesel seller among Detroit automakers,\u00a0joining oil-burning service vehicles like the Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz.\u00a0But the addition of popular Chevrolet, Ram and Jeep models promises more diesel penetration.<\/p>\n
\u201cCustomers have been asking for diesels in these vehicles for along time,\u201d says Diesel Technology Forum’s Schaeffer, who says there are nearly 50 diesel offerings in the market. \u201cIt will be interesting to see how much the sales numbers grow as new vehicles come on line.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a commitment to a post-carbon future of \u201czero-emissions\u201d electric vehicles, General Motors Co.\u00a0is converting is its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant\u00a0to the manufacture of electric trucks. Auto analysts forecast the vehicles will not be obscure green compacts, but the meat of GM\u2019s big-vehicle lineup: GMC Sierra, Cadillac Escalade and a return of the Hummer. At the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24590"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24591,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24590\/revisions\/24591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}