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Hummer EV could be part of GM's move into electric trucks and SUVs

WASHINGTON/DETROIT — General Motors 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 with 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 U.S. plants over the next four years, according to a proposed labor deal between the automaker and the United Auto Workers union. The investments were made public by the UAW on Friday, but no details were provided. 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 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 monthlong strike that analysts say has cost the No. 1 U.S. automaker about $2 billion in lost profit. 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.

REWIND: Watch the GMC Hummer EV live reveal right here

It has been a long wait to see the GMC Hummer electric pickup truck, which was teased way back at the Super Bowl in February of this year. And that wait ends tonight at 8 p.m. eastern time when GM pulls the covers off the truck. You can see the whole reveal right here, or during the World Series on Fox or "The Voice" on NBC. For everything we know about the truck, go to our reveal post here. The truck should be impressive. GMC has previously announced it will have up to 1,000 horsepower, and it will have a variety of fun features such as removable roof panels and four-wheel steering that can move the truck sort of sideways with "Crab Mode." The GMC Hummer will also be available in pickup and SUV forms. So be sure to tune in tonight for one of the biggest (figuratively and literally) vehicle reveals of the year. And keep an eye on Autoblog for all the latest on the Hummer and other vehicles.

An all-electric Hummer is reportedly under consideration at GM

GM is reportedly considering a return to the Hummer brand, but not in the traditional Hummer way. No, a report from Bloomberg says that GM is mulling over the idea of building an electric Hummer. The report cites unnamed sources within GM, as the folks prefer not to be named due to the private nature of the conversations. At this point, Bloomberg characterizes the Hummer talks as preliminary discussions. GM is figuring out how it wants to organize its future electric trucks and SUVs, and Hummer is a part of those discussions. Just as anyone would expect, Hummer could be used to profit off the current demand for rugged and tough vehicles. Mark Reuss didn't commit either way to a Hummer revival when asked by Bloomberg. "I love Hummer. I don't know. We're looking at everything," Reuss said. Other GM sources said that the company sees an opportunity to compete with Jeep for off-road vehicles that have creature comforts commanding high premiums. The report states that designers have done work with Hummer concepts, experimenting with Hummer styling to implement it on GMC-branded products, too. There's also the question of whether an electric Hummer is a smart move to begin with. Folks bought up Hummers before because they're big, brawny, good off-road, and gas was cheap. Gas is relatively cheap today, but attitudes around cars that achieve 10 mpg have changed. Rivian thinks that consumers are interested in premium electric SUVs and trucks, and the hype around that company is real right now. An electric Hummer would undoubtedly go after the same space as the Rivian R1S. The number of people willing to drop over $70,000 on an electric adventure vehicle is still untested, though. Even if GM did give an electric Hummer project the green light, we're still years away. We know GM is currently in development of an electric pickup truck platform, but that doesn't mean it's anywhere close to production. We haven't seen a new Hummer since GM halted sales of the brand in 2010. The recession and high gas prices drove sales down so low that Hummer declared bankruptcy in 2009, but GM still kept the brand in its portfolio. It's hard to think of a better time than the SUV and crossover hoopla of today to introduce something like an electric Hummer, but until we hear something more substantial from GM, the vehicle is going to remain a rumor.