After announcing the revival of the Hummer pickup truck in February, GM has confirmed the comeback of the Hummer SUV. The all-new Hummer SUV, like the Hummer pickup truck, will be a GMC Hummer EV. The new electric SUV, with its boxy shape and larger than life character, could put a big dent on the Tesla Model Y’s sales.
The Hummer may have been a standalone brand in the past, but comes back as a sub-brand of GMC, just like Jeep’s Wrangler and Ford’s Bronco. In a new video announcing the release date of the 2022 Hummer pickup truck (fall 2020), GM teases the 2022 Hummer SUV with a picture of its profile and says that the first GMC Hummer EV is just the beginning (set as the display image of this story)
Design & Features
The teaser indicates that the GMC Hummer SUV will be an extension of the GMC Hummer SUT (Sport Utility Truck). The design should be very similar, especially on the inside. The commonality would mean customers being able to get the open-air experience with removable roof panels on the SUV. Three rows with seats for seven occupants is a given. The 15-inch AVN screen and 12-inch digital instrument cluster of the pickup truck, reported by journalists who attended a private preview, would also be among the SUV’s main features.
Both the GMC Hummer EV models, the electric SUT and the electric SUV, are based on GM’s third-gen global EV platform and thus be capable of getting its most advanced electric propulsion systems and active safety systems. They should launch in multiple battery pack and output configurations.
Range, Power & Torque
For the GMC Hummer electric pickup truck, GM has confirmed up to 1,000 horsepower and up to 11,500 lb.-ft. (15,591.91 Nm) of torque. Thanks to the colossal outputs, the Hummer pickup will be able to hit 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in just 3 seconds. Figures for the GMC Hummer electric SUV should be disclosed in the coming months but expect the outputs in the same ballpark.
Like the pickup, the SUV version of the reborn Hummer should be offered with Adrenaline, Crab and next-gen Super Cruise (autonomous) drive modes and ultra-vision cameras.
Both the new Hummer models will be offered with 800-volt Ultium batteries. GM says that these proprietary batteries are unique because they allow packing the large-format, pouch-style cells vertically or horizontal inside the battery pack. What this means is that the engineers can optimize the energy storage and layout of the battery for each vehicle design. The company has confirmed 350 kW fast-charging capability for its electric truck platform which should get the battery capacity to 80 per cent within minutes of charging.
The Ultium batteries for the next-gen GM EVs will come in energy options ranging from 50 to 200 kWh. It’s safe to assume that the GMC Hummer EVs will be available with the best of the high-capacity options, including the top-end 200 kWh option. GM has been able to keep the battery cell costs below $100/kWh, thanks to its partnership with LG Chem. Expect the Hummer SUV range to be between 350-400 miles.
Price
The GMC Hummer SUV is expected to be much higher than the Tesla Model Y. While Tesla Model Y prices range from USD 49,990-59,990 (INR 37,43,711.11-44,92,603.11), the GMC Hummer SUV prices may start somewhere between USD 65,000-75,000 (INR 48,67,798.00-56,16,690.00) in the USA. The premium would be justified by bigger dimensions, higher performance and range and greater off-roading capabilities.
Manufacturing
GM will build the Electric Hummer models at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, where it announced $2.2 billion investment in January. Production of the Tesla Cybertruck rival will begin in fall 2021.
GM has planned to launch 20 all-electric nameplates by 2023. The Hummer electric is the anchor of the proposed investment at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. This plant is expected to be powered by renewable energy by 2023, the company announced in April.
General Motors has partnered with DTE Energy to source 500,000 megawatt-hours of solar energy that will power its Michigan facilities. The partnership, along with the 300,000 MWh of wind energy purchased by GM in February 2019, takes the total amount of renewable energy sourced by GM to 800,000 MWh. The solar energy deal with DTE Energy is part of the latter’s MIGreenPower program and will be adequate to power GM’s Southeast Michigan facilities by 2023. The facilities include Renaissance Center global headquarters in Detroit, Milford Proving Ground in Milford, GM Global Technical Center in Warren, Orion and Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plants and other smaller GM sites.
The investment is part of GM’s plans to power all its US facilities with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 and its global facilities by 2040.
History
General Motors marketed the Hummer brand of SUVs and pickups between 1998 and 2010. The demand for the big SUV was strong enough that several Indian businesspeople, Bollywood artists and sports stars continued importing used examples long after the brand retired.
Perhaps the most ostentatious passenger vehicle, the Hummer, through its three generations, made famous by larger-than-life celebrity owners Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dennis Rodman and its prior stint on the battle lines for the United States military, enjoyed buyer craze around the globe until recession struck in the USA in 2008. GM had filed for bankruptcy and was bailed out by the US government, and justifying a place for an excess, thirsty SUV in a landscape that was migrating to environment-conscious crossovers and compact vehicles became seemingly impossible with taxpayer dollars. GM had tried selling the division to a Chinese machine manufacturer in 2009, albeit unsuccessfully.
Would be interesting to watch if GM’s marketing managers can transform the name of an environmentally unfavourable, gas-guzzling brand of SUV synonymous with excess to fit on the tailgate of a vehicle that goes against those very values!
Also Read: 9 game-changing Electric Pick-up Trucks WORTH waiting for