GM’s Large Pickups to Get Carbon Fiber Load Beds

General Motors Co. is preparing to use carbon fiber-reinforced plastic in the load beds of its next-generation full-size pickup trucks, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks will go on sale next year with standard steel cargo boxes. The Journal’s sources say the carbon-fiber box will debut on high-end models in late 2019, unless technical or cost issues change the plan.

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic is stronger and lighter than steel or aluminum but significantly more expensive than either of the other options. The material also takes longer to form and process, which has relegated it primarily to exotic applications in expensive supercars.

But BMW AG has been using carbon fiber plastic extensively in its i3 electric city car and i8 hybrid sports car as part of a program to find cost and production gains. GM has been pursuing the same goals since 2011 in a partnership with Japan’s Teijin Ltd.

GM’s move, if successful, would aim to trump Ford Motor Co.’s massive switch to aluminum when it redesigned its full-size F-Series pickup truck two years ago. The quest for lower weight is being driven throughout the industry by rising fuel economy goals for cars and trucks.