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2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 reservations closed

Reservation slots for the 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 are gone. As is the case with just about every vehicle that can be reserved, regardless of cost, there weren't enough slots to satisfy the initial rush. Carscoops noticed the situation first, getting confirmation from GMC that the only avenue remaining for now is to get on a waitlist. GMC's page for the Sierra EV affirms the same, declaring "Reservations are currently full" for the Denali Edition 1. Doing so meant putting down a $100 refundable deposit, a nominal sum that anyone could back out of, but we know by now that market conditions mean between reservation holders and the waitlist there are plenty who will conclude the transaction. Duncan Aldred, head of GMC and Buick, said so himself, telling Automotive News, "It's pretty amazing. A few years ago, when we were planning Hummer, the amount of vehicles sold over $100,000 in the entire industry was not that many. Now, that has radically changed in the last three years. There's been a rapid increase in vehicle prices and there's been an even quicker rise at the top end. We expect to sell out really quite quickly." The Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 comes loaded with quilted seats, real wood trim, Super Cruise, and two motors making a combined 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque, and starts at $108,695. We don't have a number to put to the phrase "sell out," though. As GM did with the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Silverado EV, reps wouldn't divulge production caps. Aldred did admit that the reservation number is below 10,000. Two more Sierra EV trims are coming, but they're not due until 2025. That starts with the base Elevation trim bringing an MSRP around $50,000. Note, that MSRP is the prediction now. Three years is a long way away. When reservations open to the public for the standard Sierra EV Denali expected in 2024 and the following trims, GMC plans to keep a tight lid on the pot. Remember, with the Hummer EV, GMC took so many reservations that current production rates mean the automaker won't clear the list for years. Production rates will climb, certainly. However, GM builds the pickups and its Cruise Origin delivery vehicle at its Factory Zero, and there are already 110,000 Silverado EV reservations alone to get through.

GM seeks national mandate for zero-emissions cars

DETROIT — General Motors says it will ask the federal government for one national gas mileage standard, including a requirement that a percentage of auto companies' sales be zero-emissions vehicles. Mark Reuss, GM's executive vice president of product development, said the company will propose that a certain percentage of nationwide sales be made up of vehicles that run on electricity or hydrogen fuel cells. GM says a nationwide program modeled on such a requirement in California could result in 7 million electric vehicles, or EVs, on U.S. roads by 2030. California wants 15.4 percent of vehicle sales by 2025 to be EVs or other zero emission vehicles. Nine other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, have adopted those requirements. In January, California Governor Jerry Brown set a target of 5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2030. The Trump administration criticizes California's ZEV mandate, saying it requires automakers to spend tens of billions of dollars developing vehicles that most consumers do not want, only to sell them at a loss. Reuss told reporters that governments and industries in Asia and Europe "are working together to enact policies now to hasten the shift to an all-electric future. It's very simple: America has the opportunity to lead in the technologies of the future." A national mandate also would create jobs and reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and "make EVs more affordable," Reuss added. GM, the nation's largest automaker, will spell out the request Friday in written comments on a Trump administration proposal to roll back Obama-era fuel economy and emissions standards, freezing them at 2020 levels instead of gradually making them tougher. Under a regulation finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of the Obama administration, the fleet of new automobiles would have to get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, 10 mpg higher than the current requirement. But the Trump administration's preferred plan is to freeze the standards starting in 2021. Administration officials say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency requirements would make vehicles more affordable, which would get safer cars into consumer hands more quickly. GM on Thursday said it doesn't support the freeze, but wants flexibility to deal with consumers' shift from cars to less-efficient SUVs and trucks.

GM tinkering with Silverado, Sierra model mix amidst strong early sales

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. That's a lesson that is currently being taught to General Motors, because despite a strong showing from its 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, the General's pickup sales still can't best those of cross-town rival Ford.
With 59,163 trucks moved, GM fell just over 1,000 units short of toppling Ford, and one of the main reasons for that, according to GM's chief sales analyst, was due to a lack of variety in the engines and body styles available on dealer lots. "We are still over-weighted toward crew-cab V8 trucks. Our light-duty mix will moderate over time as our launch progresses," said Kurt McNeil.
Loading dealers with the popular combination of the 5.3-liter V8 and the four-door, Crew Cab body style was intentional during the truck's launch, but as supplies of leftover 2013 models, which are being sold at heavy incentives, are beginning to wane, both budget-conscious and high-dollar buyers are looking elsewhere instead of at the volume model pickups.