If You Want The Old Silverado or Sierra, Don’t Worry – GM Will Keep Building Them Through Summer 2019

2017 chevy silverado redline
GM will continue production of the old Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra into 2019. [Photo: Chevrolet]

GM will wind down production of the old Silverado and Sierra next year.

The third-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra will live on into next year, according to an Automotive News report. Crew cab models will wind down in early 2019, while regular cab and double cab models will cease production in “the early second half of next year.” Currently, the previous generation model is available under the “LD” (Light Duty) designation, but only in double cab configuration.

2019 Chevrolet Silverado LT Trail Boss. [Photo: Chevrolet]
The company is currently in the process of shifting its production around to accommodate demand for the new T1 platform Silverado and Sierra. At the same time, it’s moving final assembly for the old K2 platform trucks to its Oshawa, Ontario plant. GM will continue to use its Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana as well as additional capacity in Flint, Michigan to build the new trucks. The company is also gearing up its plant in Silao, Mexico to start production by January.

[Photo: GMC]
Of course, this isn’t the first time GM has built its “legacy” trucks alongside the new models. GM built the old GMT400 C/K as the Silverado/Sierra “Classic” until 2002. That overlapped with production of the new GMT800 generation, which started production in 1998. FCA is also building the fourth-generation, DS Ram 1500 – called the Ram Classic – alongside the new, fifth-generation, DT Ram 1500.

Through the third quarter (under the old generation), Silverado sales picked up 1.4 percent for 424,403 total sales. The Sierra dropped by 1.4 percent, to 152,242. We’ll have to wait and see how sales fare with both trucks available for order.