While this year was a bit quieter for new truck launches, there are some major changes coming in 2026!
With Christmas officially behind us (quite literally, in the case of this TFL Talkin’ Trucks podcast), we’re diving into the trucks we’re most excited to drive in the coming year. It’s about time we get some major truck news, too, as this year was a little quiet compared to some others in recent memory. In the hour-long discussion below, these are launches you’re definitely going to want to keep an eye on, and they run the gamut from positively tiny trucks to full-on, full-size offerings you’ll be able to buy sometime in 2026.
2027 Chevy Silverado 1500 (and likely the GMC Sierra, too)
It may not feel like it, but the current T1XX-generation Chevy Silverado trucks have been around since the 2019 model year. Sure, the Silverado 1500 saw a mild refresh in 2022, but it’s time for a more dramatic update. Thanks to spy shots and some recent patent filings, we have further confirmation that the truck’s production arrival is imminent, and we have some idea what to expect (at least in the styling department). Further renderings are down in the podcast below.
Regardless of which generation we’re talking, GM’s full-size trucks are critically important as it remains locked in competition with Ford and Ram. Naturally, we’ll expect to see fresh styling and more technology as a new generation of Chevy Silverado, and its corporate GMC Sierra twin, take shape.
What we don’t know yet is how this next-generation truck lineup is going to look on the powertrain front. GM will almost certainly carry a few options over from the current generation, like the 2.7-liter TurboMax or the 3.0-liter Duramax turbo-diesel. There’s a little bit more fuzziness in the V8 realm, however, as GM prepares a new small-block V8 with a nearly $900 million investment into the Buffalo, New York engine plant that builds the current GenV engine. The Gen6 is supposedly going to hit production in calendar year 2027, so there’s a question mark whether the first-year examples of the new Silverado/Sierra trucks will see carryover V8s, or whether we’re potentially looking at a later launch next year to accommodate a new truck with a brand-new engine.
2026/7 Ram 1500 TRX
And the era of thunderous V8s not only continues, but expands thanks to Ram’s reintroduction of the TRX at the top of its half-ton lineup. Stellantis revived the Hemi option in the 2026 Ram 1500 that launched this summer, and it was a virtual guarantee where the company would go from there. In fact, Ram teased that something major is coming on New Year’s Day, and while it didn’t directly say TRX, we all know what’s happening.
Again, like with the Chevy Silverado, there’s a bit of gray area in here. Yes, the 2026 (or 2027, depending on the launch window) TRX will pack a V8 engine. So, you’ll have another option above the RHO if a twin-turbo inline-six isn’t quite enough motor for you. How much power the supercharged V8 will put out is the mystery. We know the past version produced 702 horsepower, but considering the Ford F-150 Raptor R kicks out 720…you know Ram’s not going to let that lie. When it does make its full debut, you can bet your bottom dollar — or nearly $100,000, more likely — that the new TRX will produce more than 720 horsepower.
2027 Slate Truck
One of 2025’s biggest reveals was the Slate Auto’s tiny little electric truck. Despite the fact that it’s electric, folks really seem to have taken a liking to this little guy, and there are a couple good reasons for that. First, it’s about as ruthlessly simple as any EV can feasibly get. You get exposed screws fastening the body panels, for Pete’s sake. Slate also looks to welcome a pretty wide range of customization, so you can really make your Slate Truck yours when it comes time to lock in an order. (Slate reservations are open for $50, by the way).
The major reason a lot of people like it is because of its low price tag. When Slate first debuted its truck, it mentioned a price tag “under $20K”. The world’s changed, however, and the lack of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit means you’ll pay closer to $30K when the truck actually makes its full launch.
Supposedly, Slate Auto is planning its production run to ramp up later in 2026 for the 2027 model year. The company has some serious backing, too, with the most prominent being Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. On paper, then, we’re not dealing with some fly-by-night firm trying to knock together a game-changing EV in a shed…but the pressure is actually on to deliver an affordable product later next year.
2027 Toyota Stout (maybe…)
Moving on from a relatively new and small company’s efforts to build a small pickup, we have the world’s largest automaker: Toyota. At least, in theory, as the Toyota Stout is one of the most persistent rumors of 2025. Look at the latest tranche of videos to emerge in the last three months or so, and you’ll see headlines aplenty that “Toyota is coming with the new Stout!”, “it’s a total game-changer!” and “Toyota’s taking the fight to the Ford Maverick!”.
Even with the fantastic amount of hype, Toyota has been conspicuously quiet about a new Stout even being in development, beyond a concept stage. It has not been outright confirmed, despite rumblings from insiders that the project is on Toyota’s roadmap. There’s also plenty of discussion speaking as if it is definitely coming, but short of an actual debut event and details on a launch window, this one is still technically a rumor until Toyota actually stakes a claim, one way or the other.
2027 Scout Terra* (honorable mention)
Okay, we may be cheating a little bit with this one. Scout Motors — a new, semi-autonomous subsidiary within Volkswagen Group — has consistently touted a 2027 launch date for its electric Terra truck and Traveler SUVs. It’s a huge deal for old-time fans of the Scout brand, as these are the first vehicles marketed under that name in nearly half a century, since the original Scout (by then, the Scout II) went out of production in 1980.
So why are we mentioning it here? Well, construction of Scout’s $2 billion manufacturing facility in Blythewood, South Carolina is nearly complete. Pre-production prototypes are out and about testing as we speak, and early units may be available for some lucky folks to drive sometime later next year. Leading up to a full production run in calendar year 2027, we’re hoping Scout Motors gets journalists into those early units to finally get a sense of what the new Scout is really all about.
Full disclosure: I count myself among one of those hugely excited folks anxious to get behind the wheel, particularly after road tripping several classic Scouts cross-country from their former stomping ground of Fort Wayne, Indiana to the groundbreaking of the new plant, just outside Columbia, South Carolina.
Like pretty much everything else here, there’s a ton of hype surrounding Scout, but it’ll be on the team behind its inception to deliver on all that hype with a badass truck/SUV combo in the coming months.
What about the Ram Dakota?…
In a similar vein to technically cheating and mentioning Scout, so too do we have to talk about the Ram Dakota. We now know that Dakota will officially be the name of Ram’s new midsize truck, so that’s a start.
There are a couple catches worth bringing up here, though. First, and unlike the Scout, we haven’t had a proper reveal for the new US-bound Ram Dakota just yet. So we still need to see it, let alone drive it. Based on what Stellantis has confirmed about it so far, this is also looking like a fully 2027 affair.
Ram may debut the new Dakota next year after it finally gets around to announcing it (likely post-TRX), but it is not looking likely right now that we will actually get to drive it in the new year. From what we currently now, production should ramp up in calendar year 2027, and launch as a model year 2028 truck.
