Electric Hummer? Say it ain’t so
Auto giant is moving past gas-guzzling options and into an ‘all-electric future’
GM’s plan for “all-electric future” poses new worry for oil industry.
A zero-emission Hummer sounds as paradoxical as nonalcoholic whiskey, but General Motors Co. is mulling the idea of building an electric vehicle that would bring the defunct gas-guzzling brand back to life.
For now, it’s just an idea GM is considering as it plans which vehicles will be included in a fleet of electrified SUVs and trucks, according to people familiar with the matter. The Hummer name has surfaced as a way to tap growing demand for rugged SUVs with off-road capabilities, while avoiding the gasoline burning image that made the brand something of a pariah a decade ago, said the people, who asked not to be named because the conversations are private.
Electric Hummer chatter comes as GM is looking to transform itself from a conventional, gas-powered-vehicle maker into what CEO Mary Barra calls an “all-electric future.” Hummer is one of many options GM is exploring as it races to develop the next generation of battery-powered vehicles. Several other car companies also are rushing to produce commercially viable electric-powered models.
Building an electric Hummer may never come to pass. Internally, the company looks at the idea as a “What If ” exercise when planning which models GM will build with its truck battery pack, say the people familiar with the discussions. Without electrification, GM would have a tough time selling a traditional Hummer in an era when emissions rules have become much stricter than in the brand’s heyday.
Rise and fall
GM is working on two major battery-electric vehicle programs. The first is its BEV3 project, which will develop passenger cars, crossover
SUVs and a variety of other small and midsize models. That’s part of the automaker’s pledge to put 20 EVs on the road globally by 2023. The second program would make electric pickups and other full-size vehicles, some of which can go off-road.
“It’s massive. There might be places where we go first that are not just heavy-duty work trucks but more style and capability for off-road,” he said. “There are lots of things that are very attractive.”
GM kept Hummer after its 2009 bankruptcy, but halted sales in 2010. Back then, the 10-miles-per-gallon Hummer H2 made the brand a symbol of automaker indifference to global warming. The vehicle was so heavy its weight placed it beyond the reach of federal government rules for fueleconomy tests, further enraging environmentalists. Hummer’s death knell came when oil soared past $100 a barrel, spiking gas prices and sinking sales.
GM bought the brand in 1998, six years after AM General debuted it as a civilian version of the armored Humvee military vehicle made famous for its role in the Gulf War. Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was an early advocate for the brand and its first model, which later became known as the H1. GM sales started with the H2 model in 2002, a $60,000 SUV made using some parts from Chevy pickups and SUVs. It was a smash hit among buyers looking for brawn and bling, prompting the Detroit automaker to follow up with the midsize H3 SUV and H3T pickup.
Demand for Hummer vehicles peaked in 2006 with U.S. sales of 71,524 vehicles, but fewer than 4,000 were sold by 2010, according to the Automotive News Data Center.
Over the past few years, GM has watched the growth of Jeep, the crown jewel and moneymaker of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and wondering if Hummer might win a piece of that market, said the people familiar with the brand discussions. GM sees an opportunity to compete with Jeep for off-road vehicles that have creature comforts commanding high premiums, two of the people said. The company’s designers have done work with Hummer concepts and have experimented with Hummer styling cues on future GMC brand models.
Years away
Even if GM goes through with a plan to make an electric Hummer, it would be years away. GM’s planned electrictruck project is well underway, but those models aren’t expected to launch until after the debut of the BEV3 architecture for smaller vehicles. Cadillac or one of the higher-volume brands would probably get some of the first models on the larger electric-truck-based platform.