How Many Motors? Take Your Pick, Says GM Prez of Hummer EV

The GMC Hummer EV pickup due to arrive next year sounds like a beast, both in terms of size and power, but buyers will still have considerable choice. It has to be that way, what with the cash involved in retooling Detroit-Hamtramck and getting a fully electric truck off the ground.

It’s highly unlikely we’ll see a stripped-down Work Truck model with ironic hand-crank windows and a vinyl front bench, but there will be a selection of powertrains on tap. That’s according to General Motors President Mark Reuss.

Speaking at a Capital Markets Day investor event this week, Reuss offered some details of what to expect come 2021.

“When we go to market, we’ll have one-motor, two-motor, three-motor versions, offering different ranges, different performance at different price points to meet the customers’ needs whatever they may be,” Reuss said, as reported by Automotive News Europe.

GMC revealed the existence of the upcoming Hummer EV in advance of last weekend’s Super Bowl “Quiet Revolution” ad campaign. The automaker provided an image of the pickup’s broad and blunt front end, harkening back to the oversized Hummers of yesteryear. With 1,000 horsepower and 11,500 lb-ft of torque promised — the latter figure surely drawn from combined wheel torque figures — the reborn nameplate inspired awe and ire online.

The output dangled in front of hesitant truck buyers no doubt originates with the three-motor variant mentioned by Reuss. The company prez didn’t elaborate on the triple motor layout; it’s assumed two hub motors are at play in this version. Other Hummer EVs stand to gain four wheel drive with an electric motor placed atop each axle, or appear in cheaper 4×2 form with a single motor in the rear.

Battery size, or sizes, is not something GM’s shed light on.

The output — and more importantly, the price — of those lesser Hummers is unknown, though GM will have to position the model in a bracket that inspires volume. The GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali, as a point of comparison, starts at $65,295 when outfitted with a gas V8 and $75,045 when equipped with a diesel.

[Image: General Motors]