Chevy Express, GMC Savanna reportedly ending production for 2025
07-05-22, 07:06 AM
#1
Chevy Express, GMC Savanna reportedly ending production for 2025
EV vans will replace them after nearly 30 years
The oldest commercial vans on the market may only have a few years left, according to a report from Autoweek. The news outlet cited a "competitive analysis source" in saying that the Chevy Express and GMC Savanna commercial vans would be discontinued after the 2025 model year. They would then be replaced by a new electric van, likely Ultium-platform based, for the 2026 model year.
We reached out to GM for comment, and this is the official statement sent to us:
"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."
The GM vans are mighty old, having been introduced for the 1996 model year. They've barely changed since then, having received just some facelifts and updated powertrains over the years. And with GM's electrification plans, we're not surprised that these vans will be on the way out.
We do have some disagreement about the reported timeline for replacement, though. We suspect that the upcoming electric vans will overlap with the old vans for at least a year. The reason being that there are a lot of these vans on the road, and there are a lot of pieces of equipment that fit them. Box vans, buses and more have components that have been designed for the Express and Savanna. If you're a fleet that has invested in these components, you might not be ready to shift over to a whole new platform. So GM will probably want to give fleet buyers one last opportunity to replace any old vans before committing entirely to a new electric van platform.
It will also be interesting to see what kind of market the GM electric vans enter. Ford already has its electric Transit on the way, and Stellantis will be launching the Ram ProMaster electric van next year. Those are both based on existing gas-powered vans. And GM itself has already delivered the first of its larger BrightDrop EV600 electric vans to FedEx. The coming GM vans will likely be new platforms, which could give them performance and range advantages, though the Ford and Stellantis vans will have the advantage of being compatible with equipment for the gas variants. That's also assuming that the two brands don't launch newer versions around the same time as the GM vans.
We reached out to GM for comment, and this is the official statement sent to us:
"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."
The GM vans are mighty old, having been introduced for the 1996 model year. They've barely changed since then, having received just some facelifts and updated powertrains over the years. And with GM's electrification plans, we're not surprised that these vans will be on the way out.
We do have some disagreement about the reported timeline for replacement, though. We suspect that the upcoming electric vans will overlap with the old vans for at least a year. The reason being that there are a lot of these vans on the road, and there are a lot of pieces of equipment that fit them. Box vans, buses and more have components that have been designed for the Express and Savanna. If you're a fleet that has invested in these components, you might not be ready to shift over to a whole new platform. So GM will probably want to give fleet buyers one last opportunity to replace any old vans before committing entirely to a new electric van platform.
It will also be interesting to see what kind of market the GM electric vans enter. Ford already has its electric Transit on the way, and Stellantis will be launching the Ram ProMaster electric van next year. Those are both based on existing gas-powered vans. And GM itself has already delivered the first of its larger BrightDrop EV600 electric vans to FedEx. The coming GM vans will likely be new platforms, which could give them performance and range advantages, though the Ford and Stellantis vans will have the advantage of being compatible with equipment for the gas variants. That's also assuming that the two brands don't launch newer versions around the same time as the GM vans.
07-05-22, 08:12 AM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Makes sense. These are largely replaced by FWD vehicles like Sprinters and Transits and Transit Connects.
07-05-22, 11:13 AM
#4
Lead Lap
07-05-22, 12:37 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Good thing we know this 3 years in advance. Great breaking news by Autoweek (presented by Autoblog)
You can also option it with a wiring junction block accessory equipment
Last edited by Toys4RJill; 07-05-22 at 12:46 PM.
07-05-22, 12:52 PM
#6
Lead Lap
You can say what you want regarding longevity, but it's worth noting you can get the Transit with the 3.5 V6 Ecoboost motor with 310hp and 400lb-ft of torque. That's less than the 401hp and 464 lb-ft torque of the 6.6L V8 you can get in the express vans but not dramatically at a disadvantage. They can also be configured to deal with a max payload of 5,110lbs.
07-05-22, 12:53 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
You can say what you want regarding longevity, but it's worth noting you can get the Transit with the 3.5 V6 Ecoboost motor with 310hp and 400lb-ft of torque. That's less than the 401hp and 464 lb-ft torque of the 6.6L V8 you can get in the express vans but not dramatically at a disadvantage. They can also be configured to deal with a max payload of 5,110lbs.
Last edited by Toys4RJill; 07-05-22 at 01:00 PM.
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07-05-22, 01:38 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
07-05-22, 01:58 PM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
Built like a tank, and with a very cool, mesmerizing exhaust note at idle. Will be missed.
07-05-22, 06:25 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Most fleet consumers don't need that, and don't want to pay to fuel and operate that. If you look at what fleet managers are buying, the market has made that shift to those style of cargo/work vans. Those old Chevy vans with the V8s are just too expensive to operate for a fleet today.
So what you're saying, in effect, is that fleet-operators, instead of loading up big rugged V8-powered full-size cargo vans, are, instead, cheapening out and overloading smaller, less-capable vehicles. That's fine...until the engines, transmissions, and brakes crap out, and the suspensions wear out, from the weight.....which probably won't take very long. Being penny-wise can sometimes be pound-foolish.
07-05-22, 06:40 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
So what you're saying, in effect, is that fleet-operators, instead of loading up big rugged V8-powered full-size cargo vans, are, instead, cheapening out and overloading smaller, less-capable vehicles. That's fine...until the engines, transmissions, and brakes crap out, and the suspensions wear out, from the weight.....which probably won't take very long. Being penny-wise can sometimes be pound-foolish.
When operating a business, you look at the overall cost to accomplish a certain goal, and you try and accomplish that goal in the most financially effective way. If you need a vehicle to do a job, then you buy the vehicle that does that job as cost effectively as possible, and no more. If you continue to pay more for vehicles than you need to in order to accomplish your goals, you will be out of business. These are not your personal vehicles, they are business tools.
Who is advocating for overloading vehicles? A Sprinter Van, Transit, Transit Connect for instance have multiple lenghts, wheelbases, heights and payloads. They are way more configurable than these old Chevy vans, and WAY more efficient. Fleet managers are not cheaping out, because these new style vans are also considerably more expensive than these old Chevy vans, BUT what you find is that they are so much more efficient and adaptable that the higher cost of entry in the long run is totally worth it.
If you own a plumbing company for instance, it makes zero sense to have a fleet of Chevy vans with V8 engines running around vs new modern vehicles like these with V6s and diesels. They also give you the ability to right size vehicles for your needs way more than these old vans. Maybe you don't need a full size LWB high roof van, maybe you just need a small Ford Transit Connect...that keeps you from spending more money to operate larger vehicles than you need...
The marketplace has spoken and it doesn't want these old vans any more because they make no business sense vs modern cargo vans. The marketplace is not wrong.
07-05-22, 07:02 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
How many fleet vehicles have you dealt with in your business? I have actually bought and operated fleet vehicles for business, and have operated multiple businesses. Sorry, but you have no idea what you're talking about here.
When operating a business, you look at the overall cost to accomplish a certain goal, and you try and accomplish that goal in the most financially effective way. If you need a vehicle to do a job, then you buy the vehicle that does that job as cost effectively as possible, and no more. If you continue to pay more for vehicles than you need to in order to accomplish your goals, you will be out of business. These are not your personal vehicles, they are business tools.
Who is advocating for overloading vehicles? A Sprinter Van, Transit, Transit Connect for instance have multiple lenghts, wheelbases, heights and payloads. They are way more configurable than these old Chevy vans, and WAY more efficient. Fleet managers are not cheaping out, because these new style vans are also considerably more expensive than these old Chevy vans, BUT what you find is that they are so much more efficient and adaptable that the higher cost of entry in the long run is totally worth it.
If you own a plumbing company for instance, it makes zero sense to have a fleet of Chevy vans with V8 engines running around vs new modern vehicles like these with V6s and diesels. They also give you the ability to right size vehicles for your needs way more than these old vans. Maybe you don't need a full size LWB high roof van, maybe you just need a small Ford Transit Connect...that keeps you from spending more money to operate larger vehicles than you need...
The marketplace has spoken and it doesn't want these old vans any more because they make no business sense vs modern cargo vans. The marketplace is not wrong.
When operating a business, you look at the overall cost to accomplish a certain goal, and you try and accomplish that goal in the most financially effective way. If you need a vehicle to do a job, then you buy the vehicle that does that job as cost effectively as possible, and no more. If you continue to pay more for vehicles than you need to in order to accomplish your goals, you will be out of business. These are not your personal vehicles, they are business tools.
Who is advocating for overloading vehicles? A Sprinter Van, Transit, Transit Connect for instance have multiple lenghts, wheelbases, heights and payloads. They are way more configurable than these old Chevy vans, and WAY more efficient. Fleet managers are not cheaping out, because these new style vans are also considerably more expensive than these old Chevy vans, BUT what you find is that they are so much more efficient and adaptable that the higher cost of entry in the long run is totally worth it.
If you own a plumbing company for instance, it makes zero sense to have a fleet of Chevy vans with V8 engines running around vs new modern vehicles like these with V6s and diesels. They also give you the ability to right size vehicles for your needs way more than these old vans. Maybe you don't need a full size LWB high roof van, maybe you just need a small Ford Transit Connect...that keeps you from spending more money to operate larger vehicles than you need...
The marketplace has spoken and it doesn't want these old vans any more because they make no business sense vs modern cargo vans. The marketplace is not wrong.
07-05-22, 08:56 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Nothing you said here contradicts what I was saying. First, I did not make an absolute statement...I ASKED if that was the point you were trying to make.......overloading smaller vehicles instead of larger, more capable ones? Second, one will not necessarily save money using smaller vehicles IF (and that was the point I was making....IF) it overloads their capabilities and causes system-failures. Third, you say you have used theses type of vehicles in operating a business....that must have been before your time as a real estate agent.
Originally Posted by mmarshall
So what you're saying, in effect, is that fleet-operators, instead of loading up big rugged V8-powered full-size cargo vans, are, instead, cheapening out and overloading smaller, less-capable vehicles. That's fine...until the engines, transmissions, and brakes crap out, and the suspensions wear out, from the weight.....which probably won't take very long. Being penny-wise can sometimes be pound-foolish.
"Smaller and less capable" than this Chevy Express van:
Companies all over the world are using Sprinter and Transit vans to do work successfully. If anything, the Sprinter is bigger than the Express van, you can get them long, short, tall, regular height...and they all are more efficient than the old Express van. Better in every way, and thats why the market has adopted them and rejected the old vans.
Look at the size options...the SMALLEST Sprinter is slightly smaller than the LARGEST Express van, which is pictured above with a length of 244 inches.
The bottom line is, these style vans are way better and more adaptable, way more efficient too. Plus, most businesses don't need a van that size, so...you can have one of these:
Super cheap to run, and very space efficient for its size.
Last edited by SW17LS; 07-05-22 at 09:22 PM.
07-06-22, 03:19 PM
#15
Where are the question marks? You made a statement that fleet managers were making a foolish decision by making this change and that would cost them in the end. his is not a question, its a statement:
And what makes this Sprinter van:
"Smaller and less capable" than this Chevy Express van:
Companies all over the world are using Sprinter and Transit vans to do work successfully. If anything, the Sprinter is bigger than the Express van, you can get them long, short, tall, regular height...and they all are more efficient than the old Express van. Better in every way, and thats why the market has adopted them and rejected the old vans.
Look at the size options...the SMALLEST Sprinter is slightly smaller than the LARGEST Express van, which is pictured above with a length of 244 inches.
The bottom line is, these style vans are way better and more adaptable, way more efficient too. Plus, most businesses don't need a van that size, so...you can have one of these:
Super cheap to run, and very space efficient for its size.
And what makes this Sprinter van:
"Smaller and less capable" than this Chevy Express van:
Companies all over the world are using Sprinter and Transit vans to do work successfully. If anything, the Sprinter is bigger than the Express van, you can get them long, short, tall, regular height...and they all are more efficient than the old Express van. Better in every way, and thats why the market has adopted them and rejected the old vans.
Look at the size options...the SMALLEST Sprinter is slightly smaller than the LARGEST Express van, which is pictured above with a length of 244 inches.
The bottom line is, these style vans are way better and more adaptable, way more efficient too. Plus, most businesses don't need a van that size, so...you can have one of these:
Super cheap to run, and very space efficient for its size.
And these old vans came with engines that were too big and heavy for the van chassis. My old 6 cylinder Sprinter and my new 4 cylinder Sprinter are much better at everything than my old E350 with the 6.0 V8.
Good riddance on the Express, should've got rid of it at least a decade ago. Lets see what kinda chassis they build for the electric vans.