{"id":27141,"date":"2021-04-05T15:32:29","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T19:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=27141"},"modified":"2021-04-05T15:32:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T19:32:29","slug":"payne-gm-goes-big-for-ev-wars-with-gmc-hummer-suv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/payne-gm-goes-big-for-ev-wars-with-gmc-hummer-suv","title":{"rendered":"Payne: GM goes big for EV wars with GMC Hummer SUV"},"content":{"rendered":"

The compact Chevy Bolt debuted in 2017 with high hopes as General Motors Co.\u2019s first\u00a0all-electric car. But it was buried by a startup brand called Tesla with a sexier, faster, more capable Model 3 compact sedan.<\/p>\n

For its second act, GM isn\u2019t messing around with compacts. It\u2019s bringing an all-new, all-electric vehicle for the segments it knows best: gigantic SUVs and pickup trucks.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 GMC Hummer is the biggest, baddest, blingiest, electron-guzzling SUV in the market. Just like its gas-guzzling forefather, the 1992-2006 Hummer H1. Landing like a LeBron James dunk in the middle of the NCAA tournament last Saturday, the six-figure Hummer EV ute follows the Hummer EV pickup as a double shot of exotica because GM wants to show you what it is really capable of in the EV space.<\/p>\n

Sedan? Pshaw. Behold the crab-walking, dirt-devouring, asphalt-torching e-Godzilla.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a benchmark vehicle for the industry,\u201d GMC Global Vice President Duncan Aldred said in an interview. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t have gone to that performance without going electric: 800 horsepower, 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. We call it a super truck. Spend time with a Hummer EV (then) get into anything else and it feels like taking a step backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

GMC is arguably the General\u2019s most powerful brand soldier \u2014\u00a0its gorgeous, chromed, gas-powered pickups boasting average transaction prices north of $50k \u2014\u00a0higher than Euro lux\u00a0brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Red-hot Sierra pickups are being gobbled up after only three days on dealer lots.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat GM learned from the Bolt is that maybe introducing your best technology in a Chevy doesn\u2019t work,\u201d said IHS Markit senior analyst Stephanie Brinley. \u201cPut it into a halo, $110,000 GMC Hummer and they can really demonstrate what their technology can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tesla Inc.\u2019s Model S sedan wowed the world last decade with scorching performance, Ludicrous-mode acceleration, and Silicon Valley screen tech. The halo worked and Tesla a decade later is selling smaller, more affordable Model 3 and Model Y compacts by the boatload.<\/p>\n

During that period, GM\u2019s car business floundered. Already reeling from the late-20th-century Japanese invasion that had rendered its Malibu and Impalas sedans back-benchers, GM\u2019s introduction of the battery-powered Volt and Bolt compacts didn\u2019t gain traction any more than their petrol-powered Spark and Sonic models had. In the last couple of years, GM has been getting out of the car business entirely.<\/p>\n

But its truck and SUV brands have flourished. Hummer\u2019s purpose as GM\u2019s first vehicle on its skateboard, Ultium battery platform is to jump-start volume EV sales. Jut as Model S did for Tesla.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltium is the heartbeat of our electric future. It will get rolled out across all the brands,\u201d Aldred said. \u201cWe have plans for a GMC EV electric truck, and more plans beyond as we progress with our EV future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Like Bolt before it, GMC Hummer will enter the SUV segment against other electric startups like the Rivian R1S and Bollinger B1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really interesting. The whole EV space reminds you of back when the auto industry emerged in early 20th century and there were 1,000 brands,\u201d smiled Aldred. \u201cYou get that same feeling now with a lot of new startups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet he believes GMC\u2019s brand power will make it a more formidable adversary: \u201cHummer comes with a huge amount of equity \u2014 the fact that it\u2019s all-electric and zero emissions puts it on a completely different plane than it was on previously.<\/p>\n

“We have an amazing brand in GMC, an amazing vehicle in Hummer EV, and a fabulous dealer network which I believe is real advantage. Competition makes everyone better, but I\u2019m really confident about the success of Hummer EV.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hummer will match its competition with digital screens (its screen tech was developed by Perception, a veteran of Marvel Studios\u2019 movies) that Tesla pioneered and which is now required for entry in the upscale EV segment. But true to a GMC reputation born of snarling, Denali V8s and tree-chewing AT4 four-wheelers, Aldred said it\u2019s Hummer EV\u2019s performance that sets it apart.<\/p>\n

Weighing down with 200 kWh of battery across a 126-inch wheelbase, the top-trim, three-motor, 830 horsepower monster still manages 0-60-mph sprints in 3.5 seconds with \u201cWatts To Freedom\u201d launch control mode (think Ludicrous mode).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the Hummer EV has got is unbelievable capability. You see the vehicle has the physicality \u2014\u00a0that alone is quite astonishing,\u201d said Aldred. \u201cWatts to Freedom mode (prepares) the power surge you need to take it 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The seats vibrate. The chassis lowers, you get a graphic experience on screens in front of you. . .\u00a0it creates an amusement park-like experience.”<\/p>\n

The first Hummer SUVs to roll off the production line in early 2023 will be Edition 1 models. Loaded with performance and interior features, the Edition 1 SUV will start at a lofty $105,595. All Edition 1 models have been sold. Production of the $89,995, 2024 Hummer EV with long-range battery will start in spring 2023.<\/p>\n

The Hummer strategy is a clever remake\u00a0of a sub-brand scorned by cultural elites during the Gulf Wars for its oil-rich lifestyle. GM thinks an electric Hummer resurrection is perfectly\u00a0placed as a halo that will make customers rethink the capabilities of EVs \u2014\u00a0just like the Model S sold smaller Teslas.<\/p>\n

\u201cTesla proved you could create emotion for a battery-powered vehicle,\u201d said Brinley.<\/p>\n

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She says that Detroit automakers are shrewd to draw on their own badges to conjure similar emotion with sub-brands like Hummer and Mustang (the Mustang Mach-E is Ford\u2019s first all-electric vehicle).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strategy\u00a0is working because it embraces historic, emotional brands \u2014\u00a0then infuses them with modern tech\u00a0to make them better,\u201d Brinley said. \u201cBy pushing the capability of a Hummer, for example, GM gets the opportunity to demonstrate in the truck and SUV space that they have conquered the technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

GMC\u2019s Aldred shrugs off questions about electric charging infrastructure. The Hummer EV will be bought by owners who have multiple vehicles. While Tesla and Rivian are developing charging networks for their customers, GM is betting that if the Hummer (and other halos like the Cadillac Lyriq) spark an EV revolution, then the infrastructure from independent networks like EVGo and Electrify America will flow as gas stations followed Ford\u2019s Model T.<\/p>\n

\u201cGM\u2019s vision (of zero emissions) is very real,\u201d Aldred said of GM plans to sell only EVs by 2035. \u201cTo get that momentum is going to require a lot of things, and recharging infrastructure is clearly one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n