A Hummer H3T truck is displayed prior to the start of the 2004 Greater LA Auto Show at the Los ... [+]
An electric Hummer pickup and SUV could arrive by 2021.
GM will build a Hummer pickup truck and SUV in late 2021, a report from Detroit News said this past week, citing Jeff Schuster, an industry analyst with LMC Automotive.
This follows an October report from Reuters about the “BT1 electric truck/SUV” program, part of a planned $3 billion investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant to make electric trucks and vans. The Reuters report also said GM could tap the Hummer brand.
This is not a Chevy Bolt or Cadillac or GMC pickup
Unlike Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid Volt (now discontinued) and Bolt EV, Hummer is virtually a household for many Americans. And it carries more off-road cred and badassness than a brand like Cadillac or even GMC – both also likely EV candidates.
In short, the Hummer brand could be a leg up* for GM, which has yet to see the massive market share gains made by the Tesla Model 3 or the darling of green car buyers a decade ago, the Toyota Prius.
“Putting a Hummer badge on anything is a great idea for General Motors because half the marketing is already paid for,” Auto Forecast Solutions vice president of global vehicle forecasting Sam Fiorani told Reuters.
Rivian and imminent Tesla pickups
GM will need all of the brand recognition it can get against the highly-anticipated Tesla pickup, set for announcement on November 21, and the Rivian R1T pickup and R1S SUV.
The Rivian vehicles are already getting attention for their ambitious designs. Both will get a motor for each wheel to boost handling and off road excursions.
Rivian is also claiming that the the 135-kWh model will get over 300 miles of range and the 180-kWh version over 400 miles. The R1S will have similar, though slightly better, range.
Production is slated to begin in the U.S. next year for both vehicles.
And Tesla? Needless to say, whatever Tesla announces on the 21st will get gobs of attention and likely land plenty of preorders.
But a bold Hummer EV design could put a good fight out the gate, giving it a better chance than the Bolt ever had.
Rivian R1T
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NOTES:
*GM’s marketing of the Volt (on the market from 2010 through early 2019) and Bolt EV has been pretty sad – one reason for limited recognition and middling sales. For example, the Bolt rarely appears in national TV campaigns, which almost often feature GM’s latest gas vehicles only.
