Production of the New Silverado/Sierra Begins in Silao

General Motors (GM) began producing the fifth generation of the Chevrolet Silverado this week at its assembly plant in Silao, Guanajuato—ahead of any of the other facilities that will produce the model in the United States and Canada.

According to a report by the industry website GM Authority, the start of regular production (SORP) included both the Silverado and its luxury counterpart, the GMC Sierra, but only in the Crew Cab version—that is, the extended double cab.

The report, which cites individuals involved in the preparations as sources, states that production of these models will be handled exclusively by the Bajío plant for the remainder of the year, while the facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, will join the production line in early 2027 on a date yet to be specified.

The same sources added that production of regular-cab pickups will begin on February 8, but only at the Silao complex.

Thus, the Guanajuato plant will focus on producing the Silverado/Sierra in Crew Cab and regular-cab versions, while the Indiana plant will produce Crew Cab and Double Cab pickups—that is, compact double-cab models.

Production of the latter variant will begin in Fort Wayne on April 12, according to the same report.

The website also highlights the absence of this program at the Oshawa plant, located in Ontario, Canada, which had traditionally handled a significant portion of Silverado production, but which, according to unofficial reports, will no longer be the site of the new program—although GM has not yet confirmed this decision.

GM Authority also reported that the new vehicles produced in Silao will be equipped primarily with the new sixth-generation L76 (5.7-liter) and L78 (6.6-liter) V8 engines, both naturally aspirated, with the larger-displacement engine accounting for the majority of production.

Reports from Reuters indicate that the plant located in the Bajío region suspended production of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks during the first two weeks of July and for another two weeks in August to carry out preparations.

On social media, the start of production did not go unnoticed. For experts, the fact that “GM’s most important pickup truck will not be born in the United States,” but rather in Silao, is no small matter.

“The narrative says that manufacturing is returning to the North. But GM’s most important launch in a decade is going to kick off in Mexico,” said Noel Vaquera, director of materials and supply chains.

For the executive, “being the first to start isn’t just an honor. The plant that starts first absorbs the launch’s problems: the supplier who didn’t finalize their PPAP on time, the part that won’t fit, the material missing on the first day. Silao will go through the learning curve so that Indiana and Michigan can start with those issues already resolved.”