Citing a competitive analysis source, this news comes down from the folks at Autoweek. And honestly, it’s a little bit of a shocker. The American cargo and passenger van market has been undergoing some pretty big changes since the 2010s. The Euro-chic Ford Transit arrived on the block, joining the smaller Transit Connect and leading to the old E-Series being reduced to just a chassis cab. FCA (now Stellantis) started bringing over Fiat vans and slapping Ram badges on them. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter finally got some more Euro-style competition in North America. And these new vans promise to help owners’ bottom lines with optimized space and better fuel economy than the vans of old. But over at General Motors, its offering was and still is the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana. These are vans that originally hit the road back in 1996, getting some updates over the years. And the wild part is that aside from a new front end, they still bear that 1990s design. Aside from the discontinued City Express (a rebadged Nissan NV200), the General hasn’t offered updated options like its competition.
But, if Autoweek’s report holds true, then GM is finally about to change that. According to the outlet, the full-size vans will end their production run after the 2025 model year. The holes left in GM’s work van lineup will then be filled by battery-electric vans in 2026. There are no real details about this transition. However, the new vans are said to ride on GM’s modular Ultium electric platform. The publication theorizes that the design could be similar to the BrightDrop Zevo 600 delivery vans, albeit in a smaller package.
TheDrive reached out to GM and received this response back: We have said in the past that as part of GM’s larger EV acceleration plans that we will add two new vehicles to our commercial portfolio. The first is a full-sized battery electric cargo van and the second is a medium-duty truck that will put both Ultium and our Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell technology to work. We have not disclosed timing, names or shared any other details, so any articles reporting more are purely speculative. If this is true, that means that GM appears to be taking on a more aggressive approach than its competitors. Ford is selling its ICE-powered Transit, Transit, and E-Series Cutaway alongside the E-Transit. And Ram plans to add an electric to its lineup, too. But these reported GM plans would erase ICE-powered work vans from GM’s lineup entirely.
It’s certainly a bold move, and one that may seem to leave some money on the table. Some businesses may still want ICE power depending on their needs. But if it’s priced right it could work. And phasing out the gas vans does help advance GM’s mission for an all-electric future. These types of vans are also often used on deliveries or service calls that would be well within an EV van’s range.
I have reached out to GM for comment and possible clarification.
(All Photo Credits to General Motors.)
My company runs all Transit 150s for this class of vehicle, and they seem to serve us well. I don’t drive one personally (I’m the box truck guy on the crew) but I work alongside people who do every day and I haven’t heard any complaints. I can’t remember the last time one of our Transits was out of service for a mechanical failure, either. Can’t remember that happening ever, come to think of it.
Anyway though, I’m more interested in what you see as the advantages of old-school Express vans! How are they to drive? How are they to work with? What kind of fuel economy do you get out of them? What have they done to earn your respect and loyalty, aside from just being as reliable as the sun? They clearly still have a following, and I’ve wondered for years why that is.
And I’m most impressed with how long these vans have gone with only evolutionary updates. I mean, it seems that they’re still even painted with that 1990s GM paint formulation that starts peeling after a handful of years.
I remembered they appeared in one of the ’90s Knight Rider tv movies, to showcase that is was the future.
Increased cost and decreased viable lifespan in their work vehicles (they run them into the ground). Oh, and a forced transition away from a tried-and-true favorite.
This is going to go over like a fart in church.
Mind you, running a fleet that’s part EV and part ICE is already a thing. The main issue is that it reduces operational flexibility—you have some vehicles that are more limited in their capabilities, and you need to make sure you deploy the longer-range vehicles wisely and that you have enough on hand to make sure you don’t get fucked if a whole bunch of far-flung jobs happen to achieve project readiness simultaneously.
Secondarily, nobody wants to be stuck on the crew that does nothing but 200-mile hauls every single day. It’s bad for morale and it sows discontent among the field staff. We signed up to build stuff, not slog back and forth through traffic for most of the working day.
We had one where we were able to install a wheelchair lift in the side door and roll our daughter in and out with no problem. Later, when we went to sell the van, we had trouble because we were seeing adults who wanted it but they were taller than the stock 48″ opening between the lift and the top of the door frame.
That height issue is why companies that convert these vans for wheelchair use lower the floor. If the battery is part of the frame and makes up the floor of the van, how will it be modified to accommodate wheelchair users? Raising the roof to create headroom also creates leaks that will shorten the useful life of a very expensive necessity.
I know there isn’t a HUGE market for wheelchair vans in domestic use, but for those who need and can afford them they are vital. Conversion companies are going to have to be very creative in solving this problem. Minivan conversions will have the same problem, if you can find anyone still making a minivan to be converted.
Don’t get me wrong, but nobody needs these drivetrains in such a car.
I think the bigger question here is, what’s going to power them through the next few years? Just read on a different comment that they’re dropping the 2.8 diesel, and I’d have to assume the 4.3 is on the chopping block since it’s no longer offered in the trucks. I guess offering them with just the 6.6 V8 would be cheap enough, but, wondering if they’ll try and put the 5.3 or the 2.7T in to expand the appeal somewhat.
Mercedes Benz G-Wagen (W461) 1992 – present – but its essentially the same vehicle as the original released in 1978 (although its about to go out of production), only major updates have been engines, transmission and minor dashboard updates. – so 42 years
Original Mini 1959-2000 – 41 years
Toyota LandCruiser 70 series. Released in 1984, major changes: 1999 coil springs introduced at the front. 2007 new front end to fit in the V8, 2009 new dashboard to accomodate airbags. Thats it for MAJOR changes on the truck. – 38 years
There’s also the Lada Riva, Lada Niva and other Russian off road vehicles, that I don’t know the name of.
I wouldn’t mind an EV cargo van as long as charging is available. That’s always going to be the problem until chargers are as ubiquitous and as universal (as far as brand/port) as gas stations. I don’t imagine the loss of range from a full load is much if any worse than the corresponding drop in MPG for an ICE vehicle. Until then I’d really like to see range numbers when fully loaded for work trucks. That way I can check out the charger situation in my area and see what works for me. If they could somehow make them less ugly that would be cool too. The EV delivery vehicles and such look like step vans from the future, not an updated cargo van.
A new electric van from GM will have none of those features out of the gate. save maybe reliability, but as good as the engineering is we can certainly agree that the bugs won’t have been ironed out to the same level as the express.
The other side of the market is RV’s. The cost and reduced range and refueling options make electric class b’s pretty unlikely.
The tooling was paid off ages ago, the vans themselves are about as complicated as a stone axe, and there will always be people who just want more of what they already know works for them. Plus, you can get them with tow ratings as high as 10,000 lbs—literal tons more than the beefiest Transit can manage.
*Asking for a friend.
Two, if GM is gonna go all-electric with their vans they need to do more than just short-range ones for delivery drivers. Yeah, yeah, the average van only goes such-and-such miles per day, but serving up to the average will only serve half the market. Some of these vans are interstate couriers, for chrissakes. There needs to be a range of battery sizes available, to suit the needs of various operators.
There are some mitigating factors, though. One, there may be incentives from GM and/or state and federal governments to help pay for the “make-ready” work required to support EV fleets. Two, the transition doesn’t have to be and likely shouldn’t be instant—businesses won’t sell off their perfectly good ICE vehicles all at once, they’ll phase in the EVs as they make new purchases/leases. Three, a lot of companies let their employees take their vans home at night, both as a perk of the job and also because sometimes it’s more efficient if your people don’t have to stop at the shop before and after every day’s work. Installing a Level 2 charger at an individual house when you assign an EV to someone is not nearly such a big deal, assuming the employee in question lives somewhere where that’s an option.
It’s still going to be a hurdle, but it’s one that companies are going to have to jump eventually. EVs are going to get more and more mainstream, and if they’re much cheaper to run than ICE, companies who don’t adopt them will eventually find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. If your business doesn’t move with the times, it will eventually die. The cost of transition probably will cause some casualties—but the benefits will open up some new opportunities, as well.
On a related note, the 4 cylinder Diesel engine option for these vans is gone for 2023.
Have they dropped the 4.3 as well, since it isn’t going to be in the pickup trucks anymore? What are they going to offer, just the 6.6 V8?
