Once the hottest segment in the automotive industry, EV pickups have cooled considerably as of late as early adopters exit the market and global demand for all-electric vehicles has fallen behind expected levels of growth. This has led automakers including Ford and General Motors scrambling to alter their respective strategies, shifting investments around and delaying certain models. Regardless, the Ford F-150 Lightning remains a top-seller in the EV pickup space, though GM thinks that the new GMC Sierra EV has what it takes to beat it.
According to GM Authority, Ford’s cross-town rival believes that the GMC Sierra EV will soon take over first place in the EV pickup segment in terms of sales, though for now, it’s only available in Denali Edition 1 form with a price tag of $100k. In all fairness, cheaper variants are in the works, however. “We intend to be the retail leader in the electric vehicle truck space, and we’re going to have a fuller breadth of product to really help us achieve that,” said senior marketing manager for GMC trucks and SUVs, Patrick Finnegan.
GM believes that the new GMC Sierra EV is ready-made for the EV pickup segment, which has thus far appealed to premium customers with its higher price tags. It has some ground to make up, however, as through the first half of 2024, automakers sold a combined 38,500 EV pickups, with 15,645 of those sales going to the F-150 Lightning, followed by the Tesla Cybertruck at nearly 11,600 units. The Lightning did fall to second place behind the Cybertruck in Q2, however.
Meanwhile, GM has delayed its EV pickup production ramp up plans as of late amid declining demand, while also easing off its planned overall EV production targets and announcing plans to lay off around 1,000 U.S. workers in a tough market. The automaker is instead working to rush a Silverado and Sierra PHEV to market, though it isn’t alone in that shift, as Ford recently pushed back the second-generation F-150 to 2027.
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Comments
If GM includes just a little quality in their vehicle, they will by far outsell the lightning!
I firmly doubt that tbe electric GMC Sierra would ever reach the sale numbers of the Ford F-150 Lightning. First, it is well behind in production. Second, it is a different truck from the gas model, which makes its servicing and parts more costly. Only if GM lowers its price would it try to catch up.
The EV Silverado and Sierra are too expensive, and don’t even have a moonroof that opens. They’re basically DOA, even more so once Ramcharger comes out .
Once Ramcharger is out, no Ody will be buying a BEV truck. It’s just not a smart design.