Upcoming flagship pick-up gets an $8000 price increase before it even arrives
GMSV has confirmed the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ZR2 will now retail from around $133,000 plus on-road costs when the full-size pick-up truck flagship is launched here around April.
General Motors’ Australian subsidiary cited “economic factors influenced by COVID, supply chain challenges and volatility in foreign exchange” as the reasons for the pre-launch hike.
Interestingly, there’s been no word from GM’s local division about any changes to the starting price of the cheaper LTZ Premium, but that doesn’t mean the more relaxed variant is immune – carsales is awaiting GMSV for confirmation.
However, odds are the LTZ’s starting price will also increase – by at least a couple of grand – given influences like those nominated above don’t tend to discriminate between variants.
If another $8000 is added to the price as per the ZR2, it’ll bump the facelifted LTZ Premium up from $121,000 to $129,000 plus on-roads and hand the price advantage over to RAM and its roughly equivalent 1500 Laramie (from $127,950).
It would also mean the updated MY23 Silverado’s entry price will be close to $22,000 higher than its predecessor’s.
Despite the previously reported price increases and now this latest one(s), GMSV says demand for the updated Silverado line-up “has been significant”, though it stopped short of divulging how many orders it had received.
“We are not in a position to disclose this information,” a local spokesperson said.
“The new model will commence customer deliveries early Q2.
GMSV said the delivery wait time for new Silverado orders was about three months, depending on the vehicle.
“New orders will see an expected delivery timeframe from early Q3, although this can vary depending on model and specification.”
Previous correspondence from GMSV alluded to the LTZ Premium arriving in local showrooms a few weeks ahead of the ZR2, but both variants are the fruits of an expanded remanufacturing process headed up by the Walkinshaw Group.
The 2023 Silverado facelift is little more than a styling update for the LTZ Premium, whereas the ZR2 is an all-new model within the context of the Australian market.
The new Silverado flagship features a much angrier aesthetic, beefed-up underpinnings including Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers, more suspension travel, an off-road wheel/tyre combination and all the cabin toys a self-respecting pick-up owner could ask for.
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Keyword: Big price hike for 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ZR2