Current GMC Hummer EV PickupImage: GMAccording to a report by Crain’s Detroit Business, the models affected by this measure include the GMC Hummer EV Pickup, GMC Hummer EV SUV, Cadillac Escalade IQ, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and GMC Sierra EV. All these vehicles are produced at GM’s dedicated electric vehicle plant, Factory Zero in Detroit-Hamtramck, where production was halted for four weeks in mid-March. The halt was due to low demand for electric vehicles, which led to 1,300 employees being placed on mandatory leave for four weeks.According to the report, which cites three insiders, GM has now decided to pause the development of the next generation of these battery-electric pickups and SUVs indefinitely. Suppliers have already been informed of this decision.Production of these vehicles was originally scheduled to begin in two years. GM had previously announced that the new Cadillac Escalade IQ would be the first vehicle in the group to offer highly automated Level 3 driving. It remains unclear what this latest announcement means for this plan. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, suppliers and analysts consider it unlikely that production of the next generation of these models will start before 2030.However, a GM spokesperson declined to confirm this: “We have not disclosed any potential plans or timing for any next-generation battery electric [pickup] trucks and we’re not going to engage in speculation.”Auto analyst Sam Fiorani of AutoForecast Solutions, however, believes that GM is unlikely to abandon large battery-electric pickups entirely. “The Cadillac Escalade IQ is on the same platform built in the same plant and is an important part of Cadillac’s plan going forward, and the related vehicles also raise the utilization of the plant and profitability of the platform,” he stated.Like the other two major US automakers, Ford and Stellantis, General Motors had anticipated a significantly faster ramp-up of electric mobility and invested heavily in corresponding vehicles. However, since the Trump administration scrapped the US tax credit of $7,500 buyers to expire on 30 September, manufacturers have been adjusting their strategies and prioritising internal combustion engine vehicles once again. As a result, GM recorded a write-down of $6 billion in January, following a previous $1.6 billion October.crainsdetroit.com
