General Motors to revive Hummer as EV brand – report

General Motors is going to revive the Hummer brand for a range of electric pick-up trucks and SUVs under the GMC banner, Automotive News reports. Reuters reported in October that the electric truck and SUV development formed the core of a planned US$3 billion (RM12.2 billion) in its Detroit-Hamtramck manufacturing plant for the building of electric trucks and vans.

This is part of a broader US7.7 billion (RM31.3 billion) investment planned for the firm’s United States plants over the next four years. The electric SUV is planned for production shortly after the pick-up truck’s manufacture begins, if the brand re-launch proves successful, Bloomberg reported.

The Hummer brand was dropped by General Motors in 2010 following the greater group’s bankruptcy in 2009, which also resulted in the demise of the Pontiac and Saturn brands. General Motors acquired the Hummer brand in 1998 and sales for the brand reached its peak in 2006 before experiencing a sharp decline as petrol prices continually increased after that, hurting demand for the high-consumption Hummer H2.

The brand’s return to the public consciousness is set to be driven by an upcoming Super Bowl commercial spot starring basketball superstar LeBron James, as the General Motors looks set to bring another entry into the growing electric SUV/4×4/pick-up truck segment.

Its compatriots include the Tesla Cybertruck, which is planned for a start of production next year, the Ford Mustang Mach-E which made its debut in November, and the Rivian R1T which is set to enter production late in 2020.

Though Ford has invested into Rivian for electric vehicle development, the brand will remain an independent company, Ford said, and Rivian’s product plans will be in addition to Ford’s own development of battery-electric vehicles. A fully-electric version of the Blue Oval’s bestselling F-series pick-up trucks is being developed, and this is slated for debut in early to mid-2022, sources told Reuters.