Competition is good for the consumer. Even when a company competes with itself. Chevrolet has boosted power output of its upcoming 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV before the first customer ever sees the vehicle in a showroom.

Why? To keep pace with its corporate cousin GMC.

GM’s Twin Trucks

Most automakers build and sell their full-size pickups under a single name. General Motors, however, sells two vehicles that are arguably the same truck.

The Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra share the same chassis, engines, and transmissions. Each is styled slightly differently, with the Chevrolet arguably the more mainstream vehicle and the GMC the more premium-leaning truck.

But even that difference is mostly a matter of marketing. You can buy a Silverado with every luxury the automaker knows how to make. And, while GMC doesn’t manufacture a true bare-bones work truck, you can find a Sierra for under $40,000.

Taken separately, they are the second and fourth best-selling trucks in America most years. If GM treated them as one vehicle, most years, they would take the overall sales crown from the Ford F-150.

GM’s Twin Electric Trucks

GM is in the process of going electric – the automaker has promised a mostly electric lineup by 2035.

To get there, it will need to electrify its best-selling vehicles.

Chevrolet got there first, announcing its all-electric 2024 Silverado EV earlier this year. At the time, Chevy promised horsepower ratings from 510 to 664, and prices from $39,900 to over $100,000.

GMC joined them last week, debuting a 2024 GMC Sierra EV with, as you’d expect, a slightly more upscale look. The Sierra, GMC said, would peak at 754 horsepower.

Chevy ain’t having it.

Shortly afterward, we received the following statement from Chevrolet:

“As we prepare for production of the Silverado EV, our engineering team has further refined the estimated performance specs for the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST First Edition. GM now estimates horsepower to be up to 754 and torque up to an estimated 785 lb-ft when Wide Open Watts mode is engaged.”

This Could Be a Simple Software Tweak

Notably, Chevy engineers probably didn’t have to redesign a thing to get the boost. Many EVs have their power limited by software. EV builder Polestar has even released software downloads that add horsepower for a fee.

Chances are good that the Silverado EV was capable of this output all along. Chevrolet has simply made more of it accessible to owners to match GMC’s marketing.

It’s part of a future in which many car features may be locked behind software walls and unlocked for a fee. Or, in this case, to keep pace with a corporate rivalry.