Chevrolet Sold Just 2,266 Silverado EVs in Q2 2026 — Down 26% Despite a 410-Mile Range

GM sold just 2,266 Chevrolet Silverado EVs in the United States in the second quarter of 2026 — a 25.85% drop from the 3,056 it sold a year earlier. That's despite a truck that, on paper, should be an easy sell: a 410-mile range on the LT Extended Range trim, Super Cruise hands-free driving, a Google-built-in infotainment system, and a starting price only about $5,000 above what the average full-size pickup buyer already pays. The spec sheet isn't the problem. Something else is keeping buyers away.

The Q2 2026 Numbers

GM doesn't break out Silverado EV figures in a press release the way it does for the brand overall, but the quarterly pattern is now unmistakable. Sales have declined every quarter since late 2025, and the drop is accelerating, not leveling off.

Zoom out further and the picture doesn't improve. GM sold roughly 14,000 Silverado EVs across the US and Canada in all of 2025 — a rounding error next to the gas-powered Silverado, which outsells its electric sibling roughly 10-to-1 in a single quarter. GM remains the No. 2 EV seller in the US overall, but the Silverado EV is not the model carrying that title.

The Truck Itself Isn't the Problem

TechCrunch senior climate reporter Tim De Chant spent a day driving a Silverado EV around Detroit ahead of this report, and came away impressed: a massive bed, a cavernous frunk, a quiet cabin with real legroom, and a 205-kilowatt-hour battery — the largest in any production pickup — that delivers a genuinely smooth ride for a nearly 20-foot, 4.5-ton truck. Super Cruise, GM's hands-free driving system, handled Detroit rush hour with only minor hiccups, and the Google-powered infotainment system was crisp and responsive.

Pricing isn't the obstacle either, at least not obviously. The LT Extended Range trim — the 410-mile version — lists for around $71,000, just north of the roughly $66,000 average transaction price for a full-size pickup. (The longer-range LT Max Range trim adds another 68 miles but costs about $20,000 more.) De Chant clocked about 2.1 miles per kilowatt-hour during his test — only 10% to 20% worse than a much smaller Audi e-tron he owns.

Towing Anxiety, Not Price, Looks Like the Real Culprit

The number that keeps coming up is towing range. Hooking up a trailer cuts the Silverado EV's range by roughly 60%, which puts a fully loaded truck's real-world range closer to 160 miles. For a segment built around hauling boats, campers, and equipment, that's a psychologically hard number to accept — even though most owners rarely test it.

That gap between the actual math and the perceived risk is, by most accounts, the core problem — not just for the Silverado EV, but for electric pickups generally. Ford discontinued the F-150 Lightning after its own EV sales collapsed 40.7% in Q2 2026, and other automakers have pulled back on electric truck plans for similar reasons. Truck buyers, more than almost any other segment, appear to need to see an EV work for their specific use case before they'll trust it — and a spec sheet number isn't enough to clear that bar.

It's Not Just the Silverado — GM's EV Lineup Is Mixed

The Silverado EV's slide is part of a broader, uneven quarter for GM's electric vehicles. Some nameplates fell sharply; others, like the relaunched Bolt, grew from a near-standstill.

GM's overall US sales dipped 4.24% in Q2 2026 to 714,896 vehicles, with declines across Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. GM leadership isn't framing this as an EV retreat, though. "Our business is performing well, and customer demand is resilient, especially for our trucks and SUVs," said Duncan Aldred, GM's president of North America, in the automaker's Q2 release. "The depth, breadth and appeal of our vehicle portfolio allows us to lead the market in sales, while maintaining discipline on inventory, pricing and incentives to deliver strong margins." GM still finished the quarter as the top-selling automaker in the US overall.

What Could Actually Fix It: A Cheaper Battery

GM's clearest path to turning the Silverado EV around isn't a bigger battery — it already has the biggest one in the segment — it's a cheaper one. The automaker has signaled it's moving to a new lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) battery chemistry that could cut cell costs by roughly $6,000 per vehicle while preserving range, with rollout expected later this decade. If those savings reach the sticker price, the Silverado EV could land close to parity with its gas-powered sibling — removing the one lingering objection that towing math and Super Cruise can't argue away.