The U.S. Army wants an electric vehicle from General Motors.
On Tuesday, GM’s subsidiary GM Defense said it was selected to provide a battery electric vehicle for analysis and demonstration to the Army, so it will offer up the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup.
“The U.S. Army has bought one Hummer through GM Defense,” said Sonia Taylor, GM Defense spokeswoman. She declined to say how much the Army paid for it, but the retail Hummer, which is built at Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck, starts at $108,700.
The sale of only one may not seem significant, but Taylor said it is a stepping stone to get the U.S. Defense industry electrified.
“We are trying to help defense and government partners transition to an EV future so this is one of the steps,” Taylor said. “Our industry moves real slow. Slower than the commercial market. But this is a positive step in that direction.”
Last week, Canoo, a high-tech advanced mobility company, said it also was selected by the Army to supply an electric vehicle for analysis and demonstration.
GM Defense will deliver the Hummer to Army Contracting Command — Detroit Arsenal in Warren “no later than Aug. 31,” Taylor said. The Army will evaluate it, but she did not know whether the Army intends to purchase more.
A representative for the Army did not immediately respond to a request by the Detroit Free Press for comment or further details.
But according to the Army’s purchase description outlined in its bid, it said: “The purpose of this requirement is to procure a new light to heavy duty Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or series-hybrid electric wheeled vehicle, for Government analysis and demonstration.”
It says the vehicle will support the “need to incorporate a scalable and adaptable capability that reduces reliance on fossil fuels both in the operational and garrison environments for the Army. The vehicle will also demonstrate the ability to effectively generate, store and distribute power to the Soldier.”
The Hummer can generate 1,000 horsepower, 11,500 pound-feet of wheel torque and is capable of full 350 kilowatt/800-volt DC fast charging, enabling up to nearly 100 miles of range in 12 minutes of charging. It offers 329 miles of combined driving range for Edition 1 and can go 0-60 mph in 3 seconds.
“Leveraging GM’s advanced technology, this demonstration will prove to our U.S. Army customer what an all-electric supertruck can do and how the underlying technology can be leveraged for future defense needs, whether on an installation or in a tactical environment,” said Steve duMont, president of GM Defense.
GM is investing $35 billion in electric vehicles and self-driving technology through 2025, which GM Defense can tap into for its military products, as it has already done for U.S. government customers.
GM formed GM Defense in 2017. In 2020, it won its first contract, worth $214.3 million, to build the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) for the Army. The ISV is based on the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize pickup. It is designed for rapid ground mobility and carrying a nine-soldier infantry squad through the battlefield.
GM Defense has located the factory that will make the ISV in Concord, North Carolina, and delivered the first ISV in October 2020. It has agreed to produce 649 ISVs, which it will deliver by fiscal year 2024, and it will support the production of up to 2,065 vehicles as it gets additional authorization over the eight-year contract.
In September 2021, GM Defense announced it won a $36.4 million contract from the U.S. State Department to develop the next-generation large support utility commercial vehicles for the department’s Diplomatic Security Service. The DSS is the federal law enforcement and security arm of the department. GM Defense will create a purpose-built heavy-duty Suburban and make 10 of them over the next two years.
In May, GM Defense said it will start expanding its business and look to deliver highly customized vehicles and other services to international military, security and government customers, including Canada.
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.