Make room for one more all-electric pickup coming to market.
General Motors said Monday it will add an all-electric pickup to its GMC brand — beyond the GMC Hummer EV pickup due out in the fourth quarter.
In a media call Monday, top GMC executives said the additional electric pickup will be a full-size truck. But they stopped short of giving timing, price, where it will be assembled and if it will be called the Sierra — after the current full-size pickup GMC sells — or given a new moniker.
Quick EV adoption
This new GMC EV pickup joins a growing market segment as Ford Motor Co. has plans for an all-electric F-150, Chevrolet said it will offer an all-electric Silverado and newer automakers such as Tesla, Rivian and Lordstown Motors say they also are bringing electric pickups to market.
“It is a big segment and represents about 15% of the entire retail industry and that’s been growing,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick and GMC brands.
But the adoption of EVs will go at a steady pace, Aldred said, especially given the Biden administration’s support of EVs.
“We do see EV adoption happening fairly quickly,” Aldred said. “So with a huge segment and still relatively few competitors and fast adoption, GMC is confident it is well positioned.”
Aldred declined to say what other current internal combustion engine GMC vehicles will be offered in electric going forward, but hinted that there will be more soon.
“GMC will be a big part of General Motors ‘Zero, zero, zero’ vision,” said Aldred, referring to GM’s vision that electric and self-driving cars will deliver zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. “I can’t say much more, but what we’ve done with two Hummer variants and the confirmation of a full-size electric pickup” shows GMC is part of GM’s all-electric future.
New EV pickup vs. Hummer
GM has vowed to bring 30 new EVs to market by 2025 and is investing $35 billion over the next four years in developing EV and autonomous vehicle technologies.
GMC is gearing up to launch the Hummer EV pickup later this year. The pickup is capable of extreme off-roading and has a range of 350 miles on a full charge. It can go from 0-60 mph in about 3 seconds and it has new technology such as the “crab walk,” which allows the wheels to turn diagonally to get you out of tight spots, as well as hands-free driving and the fastest charging system on the market.
It will be the first fully electric addition to GMC’s lineup when it launches late this year.
The 2022 Hummer EV Edition 1 sold out in 10 minutes even at a steep starting price of $112,595. Other trim levels due to market next year start at just below $80,000.
The pickups and the Hummer EV SUV variant will be powered by GM’s proprietary Ultium batteries and Ultium Drive, GM’s proprietary EV drive units, and have off-road capability.
Aldred said the new, yet-to-be-named full-size EV pickup won’t compete with the Hummer trucks.
“The Hummer is just unique — its capability and performance,” Aldred said. “An engineer said to me recently, ‘Basically, everything GM knows how to do has gone into that vehicle.’ When we look at electrification within GMC, we’re not going to have Hummer levels of off-road capability. (The new EV pickups) will be positioned differently and targeted to a different customer.”
The Hummer EV pickup, SUV and the future Silverado EV will all be assembled at Factory ZERO in Detroit and Hamtramck when GM completes retooling the plants and starts production on the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup Edition 1 later this year.
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.