Deliveries for one of the world’s most anticipated new electric vehicles, the GMC Hummer Edition 1 pickup truck (known as a ute in Australia), are reportedly about to begin in December in the United States.
In a conference call with US media last week, General Motors executive Duncan Aldred told reporters that deliveries of the Hummer EV Edition 1 – the limited edition all-electric pickup truck/utility vehicle – will begin in December, marking a very Merry Christmas for some lucky US customers.
Pre-production of the Edition 1 Hummer EV was announced earlier this month, following a year on from the original launch of the Hummer “super truck”.
Paired with the original October 2020 announcement, pre-orders for the Hummer EV Edition 1 gave a special few the opportunity to be first in line – as long as they were willing to pay $US112,000, or around $A160,000.
And, though the limited-edition model is the company’s top of the line Hummer EV model, it nevertheless comes with a reduced range of only 529-kilometres – as compared to the 560-kilometres expected for subsequent models.
These arguably more attractive models will be released in descending order of price from late-2022 through to late-2024, starting with the Hummer EV3X for $US99,995 ($A141,525 converted), to a mid-range Hummer EV2X for $US89,995 ($A127,372 converted), down to the “entry level” Hummer EV2 for $US79,995 ($A113,219 converted).
Meanwhile, the Hummer EV SUV which was unveiled back in April is set to enter production in early 2023 with first delivery of its own limited-edition models due for later that year.
GMC’s Hummer pickup will join a quickly developing emerging electric pick-up truck market alongside the Rivian R1T and will gain a head start on future rivals such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck, and Chevrolet Silverado EV, all of which are expected to be released in the next few years.
Rivian alone boasts North American pre-orders of approximately 55,400 for its R1T electric ute and R1S electric SUV, a waiting list which already stretches out to late-2023 and pushes back any future Australian launch out to 2024 at the earliest.
Excitement for the electric pick-up market is so high, right now, that Rivian’s recent IPO saw it quickly become one of the most valuable carmakers on the Nasdaq stock exchange, with a closing day valuation just shy of $US100 billion.
GMC’s Hummer, though, is looking to compete, and earlier this month the company unveiled nearly 200 optional accessories available for its upcoming electric Hummer models – enough to put the pin in anyone’s belief that electric vehicles will ruin our weekends.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.