General Motors EV Development Process Will Continue To Be Fast-Paced

By Sam McEachern - Oct 26, 2020

 

General Motors says the fast-paced development cycle for the GMC Hummer EV will become a new norm for its battery-electric vehicles.

 

 

The automaker debuted the GMC Hummer EV just 18 months after development work for the truck began, and even though the pricy pickup will be a relatively low-volume vehicle compared to some of the automaker’s other upcoming EVs, it plans to mimic the same strategy going forward with more mainstream electric cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs.

“Our leadership has challenged us to bring the Hummer EV to market fast, using our analytical tools, our computer-aided engineering and less physical vehicle testing,” GMC Hummer EV chief engineer Al Oppenheiser told Automotive News.

 

 

It should actually be easier for GM to execute this fast-paced vehicle development strategy going forward. In a conference call with investors this week, GM president Mark Reuss said all of the automaker’s future EVs will benefit from lessons learned in the development of the GMC Hummer EV, particularly with regard to battery technology and production, AN reports. He also said lessons learned from the Hummer EV will also carry over into some existing GM vehicle programs to help improve them.

“All of those lessons as we roll out this truck will be taken into every one of the old GM platforms,” Reuss explained.

One of the next GM EVs that will benefit from lessons learned in the development of the GMC Hummer EV will be the Cadillac Lyriq crossover, which will utilize a similar style Ultium lithium-ion battery pack and ride on GM’s next-gen BEV3 electric vehicle platform. The Cadillac Lyriq is expected to go on sale in late 2022. Other Cadillac EVs are expected to follow not long after, including a new crossover that will undercut the Lyriq in size and the opulent Celestiq sedan.

 

 

The tri-motor GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 is set to enter production at GM’s Factory Zero plant in Michigan (formerly Detroit-Hamtramck) in the Fall of 2021, priced firmly from $112,595. The less powerful EV3X tri-motor trim level, which starts at $99,995, will follow in the Fall of 2022. The dual-motor EV2X will launch in the Spring of 2023 from $89,995, while the entry-level EVwill arrive last in the Spring of 2024 from $79,995.

 

 

SOURCE: GM AUTHORITY