The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is coming to rattle your Ram! HSV to launch V8-powered tough truck in "early 2020"

The Ram 1500 will finally have to pick on someone its own size, with HSV expected to launch the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 in "early 2020".

While HSV is yet to officially comment, an email sent to its subscriber base said the brand was "looking forward to launching BIG things in early 2020. Stay tuned!" The words were accompanied by a picture of a Silverado 1500's headlight signature, all-but confirming the brand's American truck portfolio will be growing early next year.

The email follows news reported in CarsGuide back in August that the brand would be launching the 1500 in the new year, with sources confirming the news at the time. 

It means HSV has a like-for-like competitor for the Ram 1500, with that truck proving a runaway success in Australia to date. The rival US brand has shifted a staggering 2339 examples of the 1500 to the end of November, up several hundred percent year to date. Conversely, the bigger Ram 2500/3500 have moved just 243 units so far this year. 

It's proof positive that the 1500 is the size that resonates best with Aussie buyers, and HSV will be entering the fray with the smaller Silverado in the first quarter of 2020.

Updated for 2020, the Chevrolet Silverado (or 1500) arrives with six engine and transmission combinations, but you'd have to think HSV would have its eye on the 5.7-litre V8 (265kW, 519Nm), or the 6.2-litre V8, partnered with a 10-speed automatic, good for a whopping 313kW and 623Nm.

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

Stay tuned for more on the newest American jumbo truck to land in Australia.