General Motors officially opens its first-ever zero-emission pickup plant in the United States on Wednesday, betting, like other major automakers in Detroit, that the country’s electric future will pass also by large vehicles.
To inaugurate the remodeled version of a 36-year-old factory, GM will be able to count on the presence of US President Joe Biden in Hamtramck, Michigan, in the north of the country.
The group led by Mary Barra will then deliver its first electric GMC Hummers, the civilian version of the U.S. Army’s all-rounder SUV, by the end of the year.
It will thus beat the pawn to Ford and the electric version of its popular F150 Lightning flatbed pickup, whose first deliveries are due in spring 2022, and to Stellantis (ex-Chrysler), which plans to start offering electric versions. Ram pickups in 2024.
However, the electric Hummers will arrive on the market a few weeks after the R1T pick-ups from the startup Rivian, whose value on the stock market exceeded that of the German sector giant Volkswagen on Tuesday, having produced barely a few hundred vehicles.
Pick-ups and their generous margins have become cash cows for car manufacturers, in particular because they benefit from solid demand from major construction companies or public authorities.
However, some of these organizations are committed to reducing their carbon footprint and will have to order emission-free vehicles.
The question, say several analysts, is rather whether individuals will follow.
Traditional manufacturers “are not going to stake their future on electric pick-ups. They will start slowly, ”says Michelle Krebs, analyst for Cox Automotive.
The trajectory of the market will depend on the more general evolution of transport in the United States, sales of electric vehicles still representing only 3%.
To boost them, the large infrastructure plan promulgated Monday by Joe Biden provides among other measures $ 7.5 billion for new charging stations.
Bread winner
The Detroit giants have relied more and more on the sales of their pickups in recent years, with customers spending more and more on various gadgets and comfort options.
The average price of a pickup swelled by more than 40% between 2009 and 2019, to nearly $ 50,000, according to an Edmunds report.
This category of vehicles accounted for a fifth of sales in 2020.
“They have really become the livelihood of the companies in Detroit,” says Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds. The latter “cannot afford to let a new entrant take over the market in the electric segment and push them into bankruptcy”.
GM’s first electric Hummers are priced at $ 112,595 with no options, twice as much as the most popular pickups.
But by offering an ecological version of the Hummer, a vehicle decried by environmentalists when it was released in the 1990s as a symbol of American hyper-consumption, GM wants to shake up preconceived ideas about electric vehicles.
To promote the “green” Hummer, GM does not particularly put forward the fight against climate change but insists on the power of the vehicle off the road, its elegant interior and its driver assistance system.
If the outer contours still recall a tank, its designers emphasize the bluish light effects when the vehicle is loaded.
And the combination of black and gray colors is “more fashionable than that of traditional pickups,” says Rich Scheer, in charge of vehicle design.
The average pick-up buyer is “rather conservative”, he admits. But some of them will “fall in love” with the way the vehicle behaves, he says.
Their main concerns will revolve around the autonomy and duration of an electric recharge, especially if they are using it for heavy work, says Mr. Scheer.
GM has yet to disclose how many electric Hummers have been pre-ordered but says the first grind is already sold out and has years of production expected.