A little less than three months but really a lifetime ago, during one of the ads that ran during the Super Bowl, General Motors gave a first glimpse of the Hummer EV, a very promising electric pickup truck currently in development at GMC.
The Hummer name, even though it was dragged through the mud 10 years ago, remains strong with many fans. But where once it represented dirty oil, it is set to redeem itself by symbolizing the transition to electricity by the pickup truck domain.
A stroke of genius on the part of GM, frankly.
Now, it looks like the resurrection of the Hummer will have to wait. The model was due to be presented on May 20, but not surprisingly, the ongoing the pandemic has compelled postpone the truck’s debut. A new date has not yet been proposed, but the division promises that work on the truck will continue.
“While we cannot wait to show the GMC Hummer EV to the world, we will reschedule the May 20th reveal date. In the meantime, the team’s development work continues on track and undeterred. We invite all to stay tuned for more stories on this super truck’s incredible capability leading up to its official debut.”
- GMC statement
The good news is that the production schedule for the model remains unchanged. For now, it appears the company is sticking to the original plan that called for the vehicle to arrive at dealerships in 2021 as a 2022 model, coinciding with the arrival of other electric pickup trucks, including Tesla's.
However, since no camouflaged prototype has yet to make its appearance in online spy shots, it’s uncertain whether the postponement of the presentation will also lead to production delays, notwithstanding the optimism shown by GMC in its statement.
In the meantime, GMC has produced a short teaser video, which gives a distant bird's eye view of the new Hummer travelling along a forest trail. Designed to whet appetitites but reveal little, the video shows the model from much too far away to provide any details about the vehicle. However, we do think we can discern we see a glass roof, which could mean the presence of a removable roof as suggested by previous information circulating about on the model's features.
As for the rest, it’s clear the coronavirus is going to dictate what happens next. Around the industry, some launches and projects have been outright cancelled, and everything suggests that others will suffer the same fate before we see the end of this pandemic.
Stay tuned.