The Australian market is about to gain another full-size pickup truck option, in the form of the current fourth-generation Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The news broke in an email Holden Special Vehicles sent out to fans just before Christmas, promising "big things to come in 2020" and featured an image of the Silverado 1500's signature headlights.

Australia being a right-hand-drive market, a not-insignificant amount of work has to go into equipping the Chevrolet Silverado for Australian buyers, and CarAdvice reports that a small number of vehicles are undergoing pre-assembly now to validate the more-than-300 parts required for the RHD conversion.

The 2020 Silverado 1500 is expected to start full remanufacturing production in Australia by March of next year, before going on sale in HSV's 65 showrooms across the country in April. Pricing is unknown, but it could start above $100,000 as HSV is likely to import relatively high-spec models to suit the high costs of import and RHD conversion.

The truck is expected to launch first with an EcoTec3 V8 gasoline engine before adding a diesel-powered model later on. The light-duty Silverado will go head-to-head in the market against the Ram 1500, which is also converted to RHD and sold there, although at a more reasonable price of under $80,000.

The Australian automotive landscape has shifted drastically since Ford, General Motors, and Toyota decided to cease local production in the country. Domestically produced favorites like the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon have given way to more pedestrian offerings, although converting American-built full-size pickups for local sale is a very recent development.

The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 will reportedly be converted to RHD by Ateco's ASV (American Special Vehicles) unit, at the same site where ASV performs its Ram 1500 RHD conversions. The Ford F-150 is not currently offered in the market, although those Australian buyers loyal to the Blue Oval brand can, of course, purchase the mid-size Ranger pickup instead.