GM to Accelerate Launch of Next-Generation Pickups

General Motors Co. reportedly aims to roll out lighter and more efficient next-generation pickup trucks in late 2018, about nine months earlier than originally planned.

Unnamed sources tell Reuters that GM also will introduce trimmer versions of its SUVs in 2019.

The new family of trucks will be significantly lighter than current models to help them meet tougher U.S. fuel economy standards that begin to phase in three years from now. But Reuters points out the GM models will arrive four years after archrival Ford Motor Co. debuts its aluminum-intensive, 700-lb-lighter F-150 pickup a few months from now.

In the meantime, Ford and GM are working on more efficient engines and drivetrains. GM is beginning to introduce an array of smaller and 20% more efficient updates for its family of Ecotec engines. The company also is replacing 6-speed automatic transmissions in its trucks with an 8-speed system in current-generation trucks.

Both companies are collaborating to develop even thriftier 9- and 10-speed automatics to introduce four years from now.