Plenty of GM products will be delayed due to COVID-19-related shutdowns, but local supply for the Silverado 1500 is on time.
GENERAL MOTORS has shut down most of its North American production facilities, delaying updates and ceasing production of many of the vehicles wearing Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC badges.
Caught up in the closures is the Silao, Mexico plant where crew and regular cab versions of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is produced (and the GMC Sierra 1500), which is scheduled to hit the Australian market soon.
The model – the Silverado 1500 LTZ – will be imported and locally converted with a factory-backed warranty by Walkinshaw Automotive Group and sold at HSV dealers around the country. The latter is the status quo until GM’s GMSV branded plans are detailed for Australia.
The plant closures have been triggered by COVID-19 coronavirus outbreaks around the world and GM says that the stoppages will delay cycle updates and production volume. However, that won’t be a problem for Australia’s supply of Silverado 1500 dual-cab utes, with a spokesperson at Walkinshaw telling Practical Motoring that there are “no delays with Silverados as yet,” and that Walksinshaw “have a pretty long lead time, so all of our orders were placed.”
READ MORE: Oz-bound pickups for 2020
That means the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 should hit dealers on time if they can remain open during the lockdown in Australia.
The speculated Chevrolet Suburban model for down under – raised in a teaser from HSV last year – is also unaffected by production in North America, meaning if that model is confirmed it should also arrive on time. We also asked if the new Chevrolet C8 Corvette would be impacted but were told it’s too early to speak about that model.
In the meantime, GM, like Ford, is repurposing its shuttered US plants to produce ventilators to help overwhelmed hospital supply and says its other vehicle facilities will be suspended until further notice. Most of the workers have been told to go home. Some sites remain operational which means cars like the new GMC Hummer electric ute should hit scheduled production timelines.
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Must admit I’m keen to check one of these out as the room inside is huge, plus plenty of lugging power and a big tray (for my needs). When is the road test?
ok, when are they bringing in GMC stuff! Really like this local conversion that Walky are doing, though bit cheaper would be nice.
Don’t care how it handles a corner, love it. Supercharged V8 would be awesome.