American auto giant GM has seen greater than expected demand for its marque GMC’s Hummer electric pickup truck (ute) and SUV, with more than 65,000 reservations on the books since the company unveiled the vehicles at the end of 2020 and early 2021.
GMC, the truck and utility vehicle division of GM, unveiled the Hummer EV Pickup back in October 2020, following that with the launch of the 2024 Hummer EV SUV in April of 2021. And, as promised, deliveries of the first Hummer EV Pickup Edition 1 began last December from the company’s Factory Zero, its first fully dedicated EV assembly plant.
The Hummer EV Pickup offers 1,000-horsepower and 746kW of max output, and the Edition 1 comes with three motors generating an enormous 15,591Nm of torque, a driving range of over 560-kilometres and charging rates of 350kW.
So great has the demand been, however, for both the Hummer EV Pickup and the Hummer EV SUV – reaching over 65,000 reservations between the two vehicles – that GMC is now expecting new orders for the Hummer EV Pickup will likely not be fulfilled until 2024.
Speaking to CNBC during a media event this week, Duncan Aldred, global vice president of GMC, said reservations for both the pickup and SUV are higher than the automaker’s initial expectations.
“Production’s actually slightly ahead of plan and we’re putting things in place now to actually expedite that as well, so we can deliver these reservations quicker than we originally thought,” Aldred told CNBC.
“We’re seeing momentum building.”
While the Hummer EV Pickup launched first, and therefore boasts a greater number of pre-orders, newer reservations for the two Hummer EVs have been more evenly split between the Pickup and SUV, according to Megan Hart, assistant marketing manager for Hummer, also speaking to CNBC.
Interest has also recently picked up thanks in large part to GMC’s recent advertising campaign for the Pickup which stars NBA superstar Lebron James. Unsurprisingly, given the ad’s debut in February, this March has been the best month for reservations since the launch of both vehicles.
The news that GMC has been caught flat-footed by the massive demand for its electric Hummer’s does not bode well for any Australians hoping that the cars would be available on our shores anytime soon.
CNBC noted that traditional automakers like GM are taking the ramp-up process of new EVs slower than some of their pure-play electric peers.
Nevertheless, according to Aldred, GM is on track to produce more vehicles in 2022 than it originally planned, “And then similarly next year, we’re going to build quite significantly more than our original plan.”
Those outside of the United States looking to ruin their weekends with a Hummer and the sheer number of optional accessories made available with the two EVs will have to wait, then, or rely on other carmakers to bring their weekend ruining electric SUVs and pickup trucks to Australia.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
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