Chevrolet Silverado 1500 could be on the cards for Oz to give HSV a Ram 1500 rival

The Ram 1500 has been one of the true success stories of the Australian automotive world this year, with importers forced to add extra shifts at its "re-manufacturing" facility in Victoria to deal with unprecedented demand for the American jumbo truck.

And it's a point that that won't have gone unnoticed at HSV, who convert the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500HD at the same Clayton facility where HSV works on the Ram product.

It's a somewhat complicated setup, but while the HSV IP remains owned by Holden (and HSV works exclusively on GM product), Walkinshaw owns the production facility, and is able to offer its manufacturing skills to anyone who needs them, like Ram in Australia. 

Which is why the Ram range is converted on a production line alongside the one dedicated to Chevrolet.

And Ram business is booming. To date this year, the brand has shifted some 1378 trucks in Australia. Critically, though, around 1200 of those were of the smaller (comparatively speaking) Ram 1500, while the bigger 2500 and 3500 trucks have managed less than a 150 sales.

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It's a point not lost on HSV. While the brand's sales results are hard to come by, executives are on record saying they're targeting between 500 and 750 Silverado sales this year - or around half of  what the Ram 1500 has managed in the first six months of 2019.

CarsGuide expects the results will have prompted HSV to look at the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 for Australia, giving the brand a like-for-like rival to the dominant Ram 1500.

It's not the first time either, with earlier reports suggesting HSV had visited Detroit to explore right-hand-drive conversions on the 1500 in 2018.

Updated for 2019, the Chevrolet Silverado (or 1500) arrives with a six engine and transmission combinations, but you'd have to think HSV would be most interested in the 5.7-litre V8 paired with an eight-speed automatic (265kW, 519Nm), or the 6.2-litre V8, partnered with a 10-speed automatic, good for a whopping 313kW and 623Nm. 

In the states, the Silverado is offered in regular cab, double cab and crew cab body styles, and all arrive with 4WD as standard. Like the Ram, certain Silverado models are aimed at the blacktop, while others are more off-road focused. 

Predictably, the specs are monstrous; the biggest version stretches 6128mm in length, 2063mm in width and 1990mm in height, and there's a maximum 989kg payload and a 5.5-tonne towing capacity.

HSV is yet to comment publicly on the Chevrolet Silverado1500, so for now, watch this space.