American automotive giant General Motors is mulling a revival of the Hummer brand for a new range of premium electric SUVs and pickup trucks. The firm is reportedly aiming to put a new range of large luxury EVs into production at its Detroit-Hamtramck facility by end-2021.
The project is codenamed BT1, and the first model out of the new range is said to be a pickup truck. Simply known as Project O, internal sources suggest that using the Hummer badge as its forename is “under consideration”. A souped-up version of the EV will follow in 2022.
The Hummer brand was renowned for producing SUVs that did not bother about fuel consumption figures.
Along with the aforementioned model, an electric pickup truck for GMC and an electric SUV for Cadillac are also claimed to be in the works. GM is investing $7.7 billion into preparing its US factories to produce electric cars over the next four years. The Detroit-Hamtramck facility will be upgraded at a cost of $3 billion to produce electric trucks and vans.
The new EVs will sit on skateboard-style underpinnings similar to that of Rivian, combining motors and batteries for cheaper production costs. GM expects to produce roughly 80,000 units a year. Sam Fiorani of Auto Forecast Solutions told Reuters, “It makes perfect sense to hit the high end of the market in order to generate some revenue that might actually turn a profit.”
Such a decision has benefitted Tesla before, which announced its entry into the market with the low-volume Roadster. Now the EV firm is taking on the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz with its Model S.
Bringing back Hummer as an EV brand will resurrect the long-dead marque which enjoyed overwhelming popularity before it was discontinued.
GM recently axed the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid due to lack of demand for saloon models. Its replacement, the Bolt (electric hatchback) is expected to cost Chevrolet between $8000 and $9000 per unit due to the escalated costs of EV production.
It has been ten years since Hummer was discontinued on grounds of being one of the thirstiest cars when it came to fuel-efficiency. If it does mark its return in an EV avatar, there will be no resurrection as fitting.