The first salable builds of the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 electric pickup are rolling off the GM Factory Zero assembly line, following a celebratory “grand opening” event attended by President Joe Biden. It’s the culmination of less than two years of vehicle development time, which anybody who follows the industry will tell you that it’s a breakneck level of pace. This was done by revealing the Hummer EV early, allowing engineers to skip a few steps of the engineering process, such as testing with layers of black camouflage. Some have pondered if quality of the Hummer EV would suffer because of this record-setting development process, but it seems while General Motors sprinted through up to this point, they’re going to take their time with the assembly process and launch of the 1,000 horsepower electric truck.
GMC Hummer EV Edition 1. Image via GM.## GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 Production
“There might be a slower production ramp up than you might see on a normal ICE vehicle, but just because of the product development time,” said GMC Vice President Duncan Aldred during a recent media roundtable. “It won’t be too long before full run rate. Not going to give any (production) numbers.”
While the run rate remains classified, eventually the General Motors quarterly sales reports will tell us how the pace of the GMC Hummer EV launch is doing. Aldred also added that the global microchip shortage – which appears to be slightly letting up – shouldn’t get in the way.
“We’re covered (on chips). We have a fantastic supply chain team, and of course we had to be very conscious in relation to Hummer EV, but we’re not expecting any issues associated with chips on Hummer EV production.”
As for where the GMC Hummer EV program stacks up in the pantheon of General Motors vehicle programs, Aldred had the following to say:
“Hummer EV is a once in a career, once in a generation type event. We truly believe we have the most exciting product in the auto industry today, and probably for many years to come. To be a part of this is an exceptional opportunity. Our dealers have really grabbed it with both hands.”
Image Via GMC.
