Back in 2009, General Motors introduced a two-mode hybrid setup on its Silverado/Sierra full-size pickups and related SUVs, but truck buyers showed little interest and the powertrain was dropped with the move to the redesigned, 2014 models. For the new trucks, the 4.3-liter V-6 was supposed to be the high-efficiency offering. Now, GM is making a foray back into hybrid pickups, with the 2016 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 eAssist hybrid trucks—but is doing so on a much smaller scale.
This time, the trucks are “mild hybrids,” meaning the single electric-assist motor cannot power them on its own—the engine needs to help. The electric motor bumps EPA fuel-economy estimates by 2 mpg city and highway, to 18/24 mpg; as it happens, those figures exactly match the EPA ratings for the 4.3-liter V-6 model. (The previous hybrid pickups were rated at 21/22 mpg in rear-drive form.) Okay, so neither pickup is a Chevrolet Volt with a cargo bed. To some, a 2-mpg improvement in city and highway driving might not sound like much, but it does mark a 13-percent hike in city efficiency.
Both the Silverado and Sierra eAssist trucks start life as two-wheel-drive 1500 models equipped with the mid-range 5.3-liter gasoline V-8 engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Their electric-assist motors are tied to the accessory drive belt, and can either recuperate energy when the truck is decelerating or contribute 13 horsepower and 44 lb-ft of torque to the V-8’s crankshaft under acceleration. The motor is powered by (or powers) a 0.45-kWh lithium-ion battery (that is 1/200th the size of the Tesla Model S P90D’s battery pack) located underneath the center console between the front seats or, on trucks so equipped, beneath the front bench seat. (“Lithium-ion hybrid battery” and “bench seat” are two features you’ve likely never seen in the same sentence before.) The battery pack is made up of 24 individual lithium-ion cells borrowed from the Chevy Malibu hybrid, and can deliver up to 15 kW of power to the electric motor. The entire system, plus a liquid-cooled underhood power inverter with motor-control software said to be derived from the Chevrolet Volt’s, adds just 100 pounds to the trucks’ curb weights.
Besides adding drive torque under acceleration, the electric motor allows the V-8 engine’s cylinder deactivation feature more room to zoom, with the electric boost enabling the engine to run in four-cylinder mode more often. The electric motor and battery also provide engine stop/start functionality. Towing capacity appears to be unaffected, with GMC quoting a 9400-pound tow rating for the Sierra 1500 eAssist, the same as a regular truck with the 5.3-liter V-8, two-wheel drive, and the 3.42:1 rear axle ratio.
What is limited is the truck’s availability. First of all, the trucks will be sold only in California. Secondly, there won’t be very many of them. Chevrolet will only offer eAssist on rear-drive, crew-cab Silverado 1500 1LT models (starting MSRP: $39,485), and is limiting production to just 500 for the 2016 model year. GMC is even more miserly; it will make only 200 eAssist pickups, all of which will be rear-drive, crew-cab 1500 SLT trucks with the SLT Premium package—a $50,155 truck before the eAssist system is added. GMC isn’t saying how much it’ll charge for eAssist, but Chevy has priced the feature at $500.
Why bother? It’s a relatively cheap and easy solution to the problem of stubbornly low gas prices stifling buyer interest in fuel-efficient cars and trucks even as the government’s fuel-economy regulations start to tighten around automakers’ necks. You can’t force people to buy efficient rides, but a low-cost feature like eAssist that doesn’t hurt trucks’ capability could certainly help—well, provided it were offered outside of California and in greater volume. General Motors says it will study demand for the trucks and “adjust production for 2017 model year.”
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