The battle among electric pickup is heating up as aside from the Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck, and the GMC Hummer EV, the Chevy Silverado will also lose its combustion engine. In addition, Rivian wants to join the fray with its R1T, and it looks as though there’s a new contender on the horizon. GMC has revealed plans for a second purely electric truck, which will be coming out in “due course.”
The announcement was made this week by Buick and GMC global vice-president Duncan Aldred, who went on to say it will be a fullsize pickup truck. It’s unclear at this point whether it will bear the Sierra moniker or adopt a fresh nameplate to distance itself from the gas model. As a refresher, Lynn Thompson, president of Thompson Buick GMC Cadillac in Springfield, Missouri, admitted at the end of 2020 that an all-electric Sierra is in the works.
Automotive News quotes industry forecasters saying the new electric truck is earmarked for a 2023 market launch, which would mean GMC plans to unveil the utilitarian EV at some point next year. Production is expected to take place at General Motors’ Factory Zero assembly plant in Detroit where it would join the GMC Hummer EV in both pickup and SUV body styles.
The third electric truck from GM after the Silverado and Hummer is “pretty advanced” in the planning, according to Duncan Aldred. He is confident “GMC will be a big winner in this space.” The eco-friendly ute is believed to be more of a traditional workhorse compared to the lifestyle-oriented Hummer, meaning it should be more affordable with fewer luxury amenities.
Chances are the new GMC-branded electric truck will rely on the Ultium batteries in the same vein as the Silverado and Hummer EVs as part of a $27-billion investment in electrification and autonomous vehicles.
Source: Automotive News
