GMC will be speeding up production of its all-electric Hummer Pickup and SUV because of the strong response from customers. The company has so far received more than 65,000 reservations for the vehicles, more than it expected.
Not only has it received plenty of reservations, as 95 percent of holders are converting those reservations into orders. That’s also higher than expected, according to Duncan Aldred, the global vice president of GMC. The good news is that the automaker is also ahead of plan when it comes to production.
“Production’s actually slightly ahead of plan and we’re putting things in place now to actually expedite that as well, so we can deliver these reservations quicker than we originally thought,” Aldred told CNBC. “We’re seeing momentum building.”
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Unfortunately for customers looking to buy a Hummer EV pickup, even after GMC has accelerated production times, new orders will still take until 2024 to complete because of the high volume already in the books.
Despite that, March has been the best month for reservations apart from when customers were first allowed to place them, according to Aldred. That might have something to do with vehicle values rising and high gas prices making an EV look like a good idea to many customers.
“What we’re looking at now is how can we build the maximum amount and how can we deliver, fulfill these reservations as quickly as possible?” Aldred said. “We’re doing all the studies on that and we’re confident we can go a lot quicker than we originally thought, but it still means a reservation now probably means delivering in ’24.”
To increase production, though, GMC needs to secure additional supplies of materials, such as battery cells, so there are still limitations on its production potential. Still, it has promised to make more vehicles this year and next than originally planned.
GM is in the middle of a massive transition to electric vehicles, having announced not just the Hummer EV, but electric versions of the Silverado, Blazer, and Equinox as well. The interest customers have shown in the Hummer, then, will no doubt be encouraging for executives.