GM to Build Electric Pickup at Detroit Plant
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General Motors Co. is about to enter the electric-pickup battle, announcing April 6 that it will build a battery-powered Chevrolet Silverado model at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
GM President Mark Reuss announced that Factory Zero, as the Hamtramck facility is now called, will build the electric GMC Hummer SUV and the Silverado pickup.
The pickup has been planned as part of a family of large trucks and SUVs that will be built in the plant using GM’s Ultium battery pack. The Detroit automaker has already shown the Hummer pickup and SUV. Other vehicles will be built using the battery pack as Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra pushes her goal of selling only electric vehicles by 2035.
“The vehicles coming from Factory Zero will change the world, and how the world views electric vehicles,” Reuss said in a statement. “The GMC Hummer EV SUV joins its stablemate in the realm of true supertrucks, and Chevrolet will take everything Chevy’s loyal truck buyers love about Silverado — and more — and put it into an electric pickup that will delight retail and commercial customers alike.”
GM said the Silverado will be able to drive at least 400 miles on a charge.
The company’s shares were up 0.7% after the announcement and have been on the rise for the past year, as Barra’s electrification push gains credibility with investors. The stock is up 42% this year and has really gained momentum since the company unveiled its electric-vehicle plan in January at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show. GM teased the electric pickup at that presentation.
The field for electric pickups will grow quickly in the next several years with the arrival of Tesla Inc.’s Cybertruck, an electric F-150 from Ford Motor Co., and several others from startups including Rivian Automotive Inc. and Lordstown Motors Corp.
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