https://www.arabnews.com/node/1571351/business-economy ‘Electric Hummer’ to help GM’s move into EV trucks 20 October 2019 Reuters
[image https://www.arabnews.com/sites/default/files/userimages/20/hummer2.jpg The Hummer was mothballed in 2010 after the 2008 financial crisis (AFP) ] The Hummer, based on the armored Humvee truck first built for the US military, has been an iconic American SUV brand since it was first marketed in 1992. (AFP) Bringing back name would take advantage of a still strongly recognized brand General Motors (GM) plans to build a new family of premium electric pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant beginning in late 2021, possibly reviving the imposing Hummer brand on some of them, several people familiar with the plans said. The so-called BT1 electric truck/SUV program is the centerpiece of a planned $3 billion investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant to make electric trucks and vans, and part of a broader $7.7 billion investment in GM’s US plants over the next four years, according to a proposed labor deal between the automaker and the United Auto Workers union. The investment would move the automaker into a part of the EV market that is largely untested and where GM has a higher likelihood of turning a profit, analysts said. “It makes perfect sense to hit the high end of the market in order to generate some revenue that might actually turn a profit,” Auto Forecast Solutions vice president of global vehicle forecasting, Sam Fiorani, said. GM is mirroring the approach electric carmaker Tesla Inc took by starting in the high end and then moving down the price ladder, he said. That is important for a company who previously tried to sell the plug-in electric hybrid Chevrolet Volt and all-electric Bolt cars at lower prices and higher volumes, but failed to sell enough to make those efforts profitable, Fiorani said. The UAW’s 48,000 GM hourly workers are scheduled to vote next week on the proposed contract that would end a month-long strike that analysts say has cost the No. 1 US automaker about $2 billion. GM’s BT1 program includes an electric pickup for the GMC brand and an electric SUV for Cadillac, both due in 2023, the sources said. Before then, GM plans to begin low-volume production in late 2021 of the first BT1 model, a pickup, under a different brand, the source said. A performance variant of the pickup will be added to that brand in 2022, followed by an electric SUV in 2023. One of the sources said the Hummer name is “under consideration” but a decision has not been finalized. The pickup is codenamed “Project O.” Bringing back the Hummer name would take advantage of a still strongly recognized brand name, Fiorani said. Hummers were rugged civilian utility vehicles with low gas mileage that were inspired by military vehicles and were popular with such celebrities as actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former basketball star Dennis Rodman. “Putting a Hummer badge on anything is a great idea for General Motors because half the marketing is already paid for,” he said. “Making it environmentally friendly is just icing on the cake.” The pickups and SUVs in the BT1 family will use a new dedicated electric vehicle architecture, including a “skateboard” chassis that bundles electric motor and batteries, the sources said. Fiorani expects the GM electric truck to sell at around $90,000 or more, while the other vehicles will easily top $100,000. GM President Mark Reuss said in June at a UBS conference that the new EV architecture will be highly flexible, enabling the Detroit automaker to build a variety of body types in different sizes, with the capability of providing front, rear or all-wheel drive models. When the plant reaches full production in 2024, it is expected to build about 80,000 electric vehicles a year, the sources said. Fiorani called that figure realistic. As part of its plans around EVs, GM plans to open a battery plant near its closed Lordstown, Ohio, factory that sources have said would be a joint venture and is part of plans to invest another $1.3 billion in non-GM plants in the US over the next four years. GM CEO and chair Mary Barra said in April the automaker would make an electric full-size pickup, but provided no further details. The company has said it plans to invest $8 billion to develop electric and self-driving vehicles, launching 20 new EVs globally by 2023. Asked about the details provided to Reuters, GM spokeswoman Jordana Strosberg said GM doesn’t comment on speculation. But she added the company is committed to an electric future. “GM believes in an all-electric future and we are making great progress in that area,” she said. “We have announced that a pickup truck will be part of our future portfolio, but have no additional information to provide.” GM is aiming to be one of the first in what will be a crowded market for electric trucks and SUVs. Well-funded Michigan startup Rivian has announced plans to build an electric pickup — a premium version of which will top $90,000 - followed by an electric SUV, beginning in fall 2020. It also has a contract with investor Amazon.com Inc to build up to 100,000 electric delivery vans for the e-commerce giant. GM previously held discussions about investing in Rivian and using its electric vehicle platform, but sped up its internal EV program when the startup turned to rival Ford Motor Co. Ford invested $500 million in Rivian in April and said it planned to use Rivian’s skateboard to build a new Ford-branded electric vehicle. Ford plans to unveil an electric version of its own F-series pickup in early to mid 2022, sources previously told Reuters. It also will begin selling a Mustang-inspired electric SUV next year as part of its plan to invest $11.5 billion electrifying its vehicles by 2022, including adding 16 fully electric models. Electric pickups and SUVs — the heart of the US market — could help Ford and GM generate the significant sales of EVs they will need to meet tougher emission standards and electric vehicle mandates in California and other states. The Trump administration is moving to roll back those standards — and eliminate extra credits that automakers receive from EV sales — but the electric trucks are a hedge if California prevails. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he wants to add a pickup to the company’s growing family of premium electric vehicles, but has not provided a timetable. Tesla is expected to unveil a prototype this year, with analysts predicting a 2022 debut. [© arabnews.com] https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2019/10/19/gm-strike-update-blazer-mexico-hummer/4035355002/ Fallout from UAW GM strike continues with Blazer build halted in Mexico 2019/10/19 ... tentative agreement with the UAW GM said it would build an electric pickup and van, but "van" is a generic term for a variety of body styles, the person said. GM ... confirm it is investing in Detroit-Hamtramck per the tentative agreement. The electric truck program, dubbed BT1 ... is part of a proposed $3 billion investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. GM has made a broad $7.7 billion investment in GM’s U.S. plants over the next four years... ... https://www.google.com/search?q=BT1+electric+gm + https://bgr.com/2019/10/06/nasa-electric-plane-x-57-maxwell/ NASA just joined the electric vehicle revolution October 8, 2019 ... the space agency does use many fuel-burning machines across its various projects ... The X-57 is an all-electric experimental aircraft that has been in the works ... built by ESAero ... it’s essentially a retrofit on an aircraft design that originally had traditional combustion engines ... https://boygeniusreport.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/capture-3.jpg For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/ {brucedp.neocities.org} -- Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/ _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
