It’s been about a month since General Motors revealed the next generation of its full-size pickup truck lineup with the fully redesigned light-duty 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500. And while GM has big expectations for the new trucks throughout 2027 and well into 2028, the current TT1X models, in production since 2019, continue to sell very well for Chevy and GMC, CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday in reporting the automaker’s second-quarter financial results.
With sales of those outgoing trucks up 4% (combined) through the first half of the year, Barra said customer demand in North America remains steady for both pickups and SUVs, while production is expected to set a record this year. And even though inventories for full-size trucks have been below target for most of the year, Barra said that has not been a problem.
“Our share of the US full-size pickup market stands at more than 42% through the first half of the year, which is more than 10 percentage points above our closest competitor.”
Silverado and Sierra also grew market share year-over-year in both the second quarter and the first half, Barra said. There was a time when “fleet sales” were bad words that referred to lackluster vehicles many consumers didn’t want, but that were attractive to rental car fleets, purchased in large volume.
But in the case of the current full-size pickups, GM is proudly touting that the Silverado and Sierra 1500 achieved their best-ever sales to fleet customers and helped the automaker grow first-half fleet sales 12% to the highest point since 2019.
Across the board, Barra said these outgoing trucks have been profitable, with both the trucks and full-size SUVs improving earnings before interest and taxes by 25% per unit.
GM will eventually be shipping the 2027 Silverado and Sierra to fleet customers as well, but for now, the focus is on ensuring a smooth launch in December, when the first retail customers will start taking delivery of well-equipped editions of the Silverado and Sierra.
Demand For Full-Size Vehicles Isn’t Waning
Barra noted that predictions about buyers stepping away from less-efficient full-size vehicles haven’t come to fruition yet, at least for GM. That has the company even more optimistic about the new light-duty pickups, which will “further separate us from key competitors when they begin arriving in showrooms in December,” Barra said, citing things like ride quality, power, and available technology as advantages over the competition.
“We plan to maintain record production volumes year over year while launching the trucks at three assembly plants, along with our next-generation V8 engines.”
It is believed the next-generation light-duty trucks will be assembled in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Silao, Mexico; and at the long dormant plant in Orion Township, Michigan. GM’s plant in Oshawa, Ontario, has also been producing light-duty and heavy-duty pickups, but reports suggest Oshawa will only build HD trucks in the future.
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