The GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express have been largely unchanged since 1996
General Motors already has the BrightDrop electric delivery vans in its lineup
The replacement will most likely be built on the Ultium platform
General Motors is planning to replace the GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express cargo vans with an all-new electric version for the 2026 model year.
This means that the replacement will be introduced exactly 30 years after the current generation of the Savana and Express were launched, back in 1996.
These vans are a favourite of many business owners due to their simplicity and the availability of their parts, but the rising fuel costs and the introduction of a number of electric competitors make them less appealing than before.
Reports say that the Savana and the Express will be phased out after the 2025 model year in order to make way for new electric vans.
Since General Motors already has the BrightDrop Zevo vans in its lineup, it is possible that there won’t be Chevrolet and GMC branded replacements, but it is too early to tell.
If the same two divisions indeed sell them, the new vans are expected to be smaller than the Zevo models, which are more suited to heavy commercial uses.
The successors could also be offered in a passenger-carrying variant since minibus companies and shuttle services rely on the 12 and 15-passenger versions of the current models.
No matter if they are sold by Chevrolet and GMC or by BrightDrop, the new vans will be built on the Ultium platform that underpins almost every EV sold by GM, including the Zevo vans.
Since the Savana and Express replacements are expected to be smaller than the current Zevo 600, they are likely to have a longer range than that model’s advertised 250 miles (402 kilometres) on a charge.
More details will be revealed in the coming months and years. Until then, the current vans will continue to sell as they have done for the past two and a half decades.
