Chevy Revives Medium-Duty Trucks Under Silverado Moniker

All-new Class 4 and 5 trucks will hit the road toward the end of 2018.

At one of the largest venues for all things related to trucks – the State Fair of Texas – Chevrolet announced that all-new, Class 4 and 5 medium duty trucks would fall under the Silverado nameplate. The Silverado 4500 and 5500 pickups will allow business owners to get into a vehicle that accommodates their exact towing needs, claims the automaker.

“The first Chevy truck was built in 1918 for small business owners, and we have been expanding the market ever since because customers want specialized trucks that can tow and haul with confidence,” said Sandor Piszar, marketing director for Chevrolet trucks.

The Class 4 and 5 trucks are expected to take on similarly-sized rivals from Ford, which has the F-450 and F-500, and Ram, which has the 4500 and 5500. The decision to introduce medium-duty trucks also has a lot to do with the commercial market that, as Chevrolet points out, has increased by 48 percent since 2013.

“We are earning new business because we have more solutions to help businesses grow,” says John Schwegman, U.S. Director of Commercial Product. “The Silverado 4500 and 5500 will stand out because we’ve designed the trucks around how customers work. They will be powerful, highly maneuverable and among the easiest trucks on the market to upfit with specialized bodies, such as dump bodies, rollbacks, freight boxes and more.”

All Silverado 4500 and 5500 models, according to Chevrolet, will feature a Duramax diesel engine and an Allison transmission, but specifics behind the powertrain weren’t given. Both models will be available with two- or four-wheel drive and regular and crew cab body styles. The automaker will also offer the vehicles with OnStar with 4G LTE connectivity as an optional extra.

With the trucks set to come out late next year, we expect Chevrolet to remain quiet about the machines’ specifications until 2018.