GMC aims for electric truck leadership, taking on Tesla, Ford, Rivian | Real Time Headlines

Milford, MI— General Motors Corporation’s The premium GMC brand hopes to become the leader in all-electric truck sales to U.S. consumers with the launch of its new electric Sierra pickup truck.

Sierra EV gets electric version Hummer’sincluding SUVs and pickups in GMC’s electric “truck” lineup. The automaker expects the Sierra to become the best-selling model in GMC’s electric lineup as lower-priced models are introduced next year. “First Edition” vehicles, worth about $100,000, recently began being delivered to customers.

“We believe this is a completely different proposition than anyone has ever put out before,” Duncan Aldred, GMC’s global vice president, told CNBC at GM’s proving grounds in suburban Detroit. “So we Be confident about demand.

GMC did not disclose a timetable for when the brand expects to lead retail electric truck sales. But to do that, it must outsell its sibling, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, as well as its rivals Ford Motor Company, Rivian Cars and TeslaMotor Intelligence reports that the company led Cybertruck sales in the second quarter.

Aldred said he believes there will be cross-buying between the Sierra and Cybertruck, but he doesn’t necessarily consider them to be major competitors, even though the vehicles are priced similarly. Citing internal data, he said many Cybertruck buyers already own Teslas, while about 80% of GMC Sierra reservation holders previously owned non-GMC vehicles.

“As far as we know, about 70% of Cybertruck buyers are Tesla owners,” he said at a media event. “So, they’re not necessarily truck buyers, they’re Tesla buyers.”

But the adoption of electric vehicles has Slower than many expectedwhile the electric truck market is still in its infancy.

The all-electric pickup market sold about 38,500 units in the first half of this year, including retail and fleet sales, according to Motor Intelligence. By comparison, more than 1 million full-size pickup trucks, conventional or hybrid, were sold this year through June.

Ford’s F-150 Lightning, the sales-leading all-electric pickup, had sold 15,645 units through June, according to Motor Intelligence. followed by Tesla Cybertruck Sales during the same period were nearly 11,600, including 8,755 in the second quarter, leading the segment, according to the automotive data and analytics company.

According to Motor Intelligence, GMC’s Hummer pickup production and sales have grown slowly, with the final production volume being less than 1,500 units, including approximately 1,100 units in the second quarter.

“This is a very junior market. It’s just getting started. For GM, they’re confident they’ll be the leader in this space because of their history with trucks and their understanding of being able to transition to electric vehicles is Reasonable,” said Stephanie Brinley, chief automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility. “The big question now is how quickly consumers (adopt electric trucks), not the product attributes.”

Including all-electric SUVs from those brands, which some companies like General Motors report in their truck sales, Rivian emerged as the clear leader with sales of more than 22,700 R1S SUVs and R1T pickup trucks in the first half of the year. This is related to GMC Hummer SUV and pickup truck models, with sales of approximately 4,600 units.

Aldred said GM expects to increase production of the Sierra EV, including AT4 off-road The entry-level Elevation model will be launched next year, faster than the Hummer that took several years to launch. General Motors said production of the Denali version of the car is expected to begin in the fourth quarter.

The Sierra EV is now GM’s third electric pickup truck, including the Hummer and new Chevrolet Silverado Arrivals at dealers will begin in December.

The Sierra EV’s closest competitor is arguably the Chevrolet Silverado EV. Both are based on General Motors “Ultium” vehicle platform and share many parts, functions and performance features.

The Detroit automaker differentiates its vehicles through interior and exterior design and brand personality.

“Chevrolet is really focused on the fleet side. We’re really focused on the retail side, just like with (internal combustion engine) trucks. When you look at it, the electric truck space is a premium space,” Aldred said.

Silverado currently comes in a pricey sport version, priced at about $96,500, and a work truck designed for fleets and commercial customers, starting at about $67,000.

The Sierra is more refined and luxurious than its Chevy counterpart: It has open-pore wood, a larger screen, standard hands-free highway Super Cruise driving, GMC’s “Crab Mode” and four-wheel steering.

“GM has done a great job of differentiating GMC and Chevrolet,” S&P Global’s Brinley said. “The GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado EVs look very different, and GM has been with both customers for decades. It’s a good collaboration. They understand what they need to do to appeal to GMC buyers rather than Chevy buyers, and they have a very subtle difference.

Both cars have an EPA-rated range of 440 miles and offer up to 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque. Important to many truck customers, they can also tow 10,000 pounds and charge 100 miles in about 10 minutes using a DC fast charger.

One thing that makes the Silverado and Sierra EV unique compared to other electric vehicles is that The ability of “middle gate”, The vehicle’s rear seats fold and the rear glass opens to create a nearly 11-foot-long truck bed and a spacious cargo area.

Denali models have evolved from simply being tweaked to differentiate themselves from other vehicles to offering their own interiors, parts and features. These vehicles still largely share the same “bones” but offer More luxurious features and materials.

GMC says the Denali model accounts for about 34% of GMC’s retail sales. This is up from 18% a decade ago and 30% in 2019.

“This will continue to help protect our space in the premium ASP space. It will help us open the door to new customers,” Finnegan said. “We intend to be the retail leader in electric vehicle trucks, and we’re going to have a more comprehensive offering to really help us do that.”