In an trade obsessive about making the whole lot large (no less than right here within the U.S.), it’s possible you’ll not’ve anticipated GM to indicate curiosity in an electrical child pickup, however right here we’re.
GM is contemplating a pickup design that’s “smaller than the Ford Maverick and the Hyundai Santa Cruz,” with a “low roofline” and a 4 to 4.5-foot mattress, in response to Automotive Information. The publication reportedly noticed a prototype of the EV at a GM workshop, and stated it may function a sub-$30,000 price ticket (that’d be fairly dang low cost in comparison with most new EVs nowadays). Judging by this description, the small-ish truck may function a non secular successor to the Chevrolet S-10 EV, which briefly made historical past as one of many first electrical pickups within the late 90s.
The design is unquestionably not last, GM design director Michael Pevovar reportedly indicated to Automotive Information, saying the automaker is “creating these to get a response after which to attempt to modify it or transfer on.”
There’s no signal that American corporations will ever embrace ultra-teeny Kei car-sized pickups, however I’m nonetheless happy to see that GM is contemplating making one thing that’s not honkingly large. My dream is for U.S. automakers to move additional on this course, however alas, the market doesn’t appear to share my urge for food for too-small vans.
The child-pickup report preceded a busy day for GM. Although the automaker claims it should rid its lineup of gasoline guzzlers by 2035, on Friday it introduced a plan to pump $579 million into its Flint facility to crank out one other technology of its V-8 engines. GM’s manufacturing boss Gerald Johnson defined the considerably contradictory transfer in a press release to reporters.
“Our dedication is to an all-EV future, little doubt about it,” he stated, with a serious caveat: “There are quite a lot of inside combustion engine clients that we don’t need to lose.”
GM stated it plans to take a position one other $339 million into three different services, which can produce EV parts. We additionally discovered that GM has shelved a plan to associate with LG on a fourth U.S. battery plant. One such plant is already energetic in Ohio, whereas two others are nonetheless within the works in Tennessee and Michigan.
