On April 6, 2021, General Motors announced that its brand Chevrolet will launch an electric version of its Silverado pickup truck, and the previously announced GMC Hummer EV SUV will be produced at the ZERO plant in Michigan. In addition, the previously announced GMC Hummer EV pickup truck and self-driving vehicle Cruise Origin will also be produced at this plant.
In January 2020, GM announced an investment of $2.2 billion to transform its assembly plant in Detroit-Hamtramck, Michigan, to prepare for future electric pickup trucks and SUVs. In October of the same year, the factory was renamed Factory ZERO by GM.
The following electric pickup trucks are planned to be launched in the United States in 2021:
- Tesla Cybertruck (planned to start production at the end of the year)
- Rivian R1T (planned for delivery in June)
- Bollinger B2 (planned to start production later this year)
- Lordstown Endurance (planned to start production in September)
The following electric pickup trucks are planned to be launched in the United States in 2022:
- GMC Hummer EV
- Chevrolet Silverado EV
- Ford F-150 EV and other models
It seems that no one knows exactly who the target consumers of electric pickup trucks in the US market will be, and there aren’t many people looking forward to this category. However, American companies are still so enthusiastic about launching electric pickup trucks because the US passenger car market has long been dominated by pickup trucks. For example, the top three selling vehicles in 2020 were the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, and Dodge Ram 1500. Therefore, for companies, the strategic significance of seizing the electric pickup truck market is to seize the EV market, not to mention the excitement caused by the release of the Tesla Cybertruck.
Further thinking about the consumer groups of this category, the initial guess is that these consumers are different from mainstream electric vehicle enthusiasts or environmentalists, and may not care about the size of the ozone hole. From the current pricing of several electric pickup models, they tend to be higher. Their power data is strong, and the configuration is also rich. It can be said that the tool attribute is weakened and the toy attribute is increased. Especially from GMC’s Hummer EV promotion, it can be seen that this product is targeted at outdoor enthusiasts.# The Hummer, which was discontinued in 2010, holds a special place in the hearts of off-road enthusiasts and automobile collectors, becoming a symbol of a generation of car culture. If the new electric Hummer can stimulate some avant-garde players and car enthusiasts to consume, it will have a very positive effect on opening up the pickup truck market. The “crab walk” function and its unprecedented power and off-road performance will be greatly attractive to these groups of people, thus influencing more people through them.
Whether ordinary consumers and existing pickup truck owners are willing to switch to new energy vehicles remains to be seen and will likely only be validated by the market next year.
🔗Source: General Motors
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.