GM says a third electric pickup truck is coming

The GMC HUMMER is being rebirthed as an iconic pickup truck that’s completely electric. Chevrolet has announced an all-electric Silverado. And on July 19^th, General Motors has indicated that a third EV pickup truck will be coming from the automaker, under the GMC banner.

The news came on a media call on Monday with GM executives including vice president of Buick and GMC brands, Duncan Aldred. A name has not yet been released for the EV truck, and it isn’t known if it will carry the mass-market truck name of ‘Sierra’. When production will start is also unknown.

Aldred said, “Not only will we be offering electrification in the form of the Hummer truck and SUV, but we’ll also be revealing and confirming a GMC electric version of the pickup truck, as well, in due course.”

Details not yet made public

The announcement leaves many questions about the specifics of GMC’s upcoming electrified model, but it certainly emphasizes their commitment to an electric revolution. The brand’s technical capabilities and consumer intelligence is well represented in the HUMMER that will be released in both pickup truck and SUV formats. Although the HUMMER is akin to a ‘halo’ vehicle for GMC, the new EV truck is more attuned to the everyday.

“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.”

Justifying another EV truck a no-brainer for GM

GM’s corporate vision aligns with another EV announcement so soon after both the HUMMER and the Silverado EV, although it could pique some interest that there haven’t been more car and SUV models electrified. Aldred confirms that the bullseye is on trucks largely because of volume. “It is a big segment and represents about 15% of the entire retail industry and that’s been growing,” said Aldred.

Much of the pace in development has been fueled by the Biden administration’s keenness on revolutionizing the transportation industry in the US. With hundreds of billions of dollars earmarked for roads and bridges, charging infrastructure, and EV incentives for consumers, carmakers can take advantage of going green – especially those early to the party. Aldred said on the call, “We do see EV adoption happening fairly quickly. So with a huge segment and still relatively few competitors and fast adoption, GMC is confident it is well-positioned.”

A vision that spans the industry

Referring to GM’s electric and self-driving vision that pursues zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero traffic congestion, Aldred said, “GMC will be a big part of General Motors ‘Zero, zero, zero’ vision. 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.

General Motors is hot on the heels of other carmakers who have EVs arriving in the market soon. Rivian had intended to release their EV pickup truck this month but has now delayed deliveries until September. In May, Ford announced an all-electric F-150 Lightning that they expect to deliver in spring 2022. Lordstown Motors is expecting to begin delivering their EV truck, the Endurance, in the fourth quarter of 2021.

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