GM confirms third electric pickup truck ahead of Hummer EV production

DETROIT – General Motors confirmed Monday that it will offer at least three large electric pickup trucks over the next several years, as enthusiasm for the segment continues to grow.

The latest to be announced by the Detroit automaker is a full-size electric pickup for its GMC brand of trucks and SUVs. It follows the GMC Hummer EV, which is expected to begin deliveries later this year, and the confirmation in April of an electric Chevrolet Silverado.

“I am very confident that GMC will be a big winner in this space,” Duncan Aldred, GMC Global Director, said Monday at a digital media event. Aldred said the vehicle was “quite advanced” in its planning, but declined to disclose the vehicle’s schedule.

The GMC full-size electric pickup is expected to be more of a traditional pickup than a “lifestyle” vehicle like the upcoming GMC Hummer EV, which is priced between $ 80,000 and $ 111,000. Aldred declined to say whether the new pickup will be named Sierra – the name of its current full-size traditional pickup.

Electric pickup trucks are part of GM’s plan to launch 30 new electric vehicles around the world by 2025 as part of a $ 27 billion plan to invest in electric and autonomous vehicles. By then, the company plans to sell at least 1 million electric vehicles per year – on track to become a fully electric automaker by 2035.

GM is expected to be among the first automakers to offer an electric pickup later this year. Others include electric vehicle start-ups such as Rivian and Lordstown Motors, followed later in the year, potentially next year, by Tesla and Ford Motor by mid-2022. Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, recently confirmed that it will offer an electric Ram pickup by 2024.

Despite the number of electric microphones expected in the years to come, this remains a market that has yet to be proven. No major automaker has sold such a vehicle before.

Automakers are bullish on the segment due to the popularity of pickup trucks with fleet / commercial buyers as well as the number of consumer bookings reported for vehicles that have already been unveiled.

Less than a year after its debut, Tesla said in September it had received more than 500,000 orders for its Cybertruck. Ford said this month it has received more than 100,000 reservations for its F-150 Lightning electric pickup since the vehicle made its debut in mid-May. Orders are fully refundable $ 100 deposits, so they cannot translate into sales directly.

“Are we confident in our ability to win in this environment? Absolutely, we are. I think we are already showing our excellence in terms of electrification; we have done it with the Hummer EV,” Aldred said.

– CNBC Lora kolodny contributed to this article.