Photo: GM
GM's first-quarter results showed the company only delivered 457 electric vehicles, despite the overall good results in the same period. Surprisingly, most of these deliveries were for a model that was already dismissed – the Chevrolet Bolt. Meanwhile, the GMC Hummer EV is still a long way from ramping up production.
GM’s Mary Barra wants her company to surpass Tesla in the EV sector to become the number one producer of electric vehicles. A promising start to this quest has led to an abrupt stop after Chevrolet Bolt turned out to be a flop. Far from being put off by this blunder, GM doubled down on EV production and invested billions to produce new electric vehicles based on the Ultium EV platform.
And yet, despite the best efforts GM made in the past months, the Ultium-based GMC Hummer EV remains an exotic presence on the streets. GM has built just one unit in the Q4 of 2021, and things are not quite rosy in Q1 2022 either. GM’s deliveries report shows the company has made 99 more units in Q1 2022, far too few to count on the market.
Despite this rather disappointing result, GM claims that GMC Hummer’s production “is going according to plan.” We believe this only as long as the plan was for GM’s customers to pay close to $300,000 for a pre-owned GMC Hummer EV truck on the grey market. Well, things are not that bad, for GM at least, as the scarcity of vehicles will allow the company to raise prices and make more money.
There is sunshine in the report though, as the company announced the Cadillac Lyriq began production on March 21, nine months ahead of schedule. This should improve the outlook for GM, especially as Chevrolet Bolt production is also expected to resume on April 4. Chevrolet already delivered 358 Bolt EV and EUV during the first quarter, based on some completed vehicles in its inventory.
We don't know what Elon Musk has to say about GM's EV delivery figures, especially as Tesla announced a record quarter. Back in January, Elon Musk greeted the 26 EVs delivered by GM with a rather laconic “Room to improve” message.
GM results were a lot better when looking at the bigger picture, with deliveries improving across the board compared to the last quarter of 2021. The semiconductor supplies allowed for higher production and market share, especially in key truck segments. In the commercial market, sales of full-size pickups were up 5%, compact SUVs up 131%, and mid-size pickups up 23%.
And yet, despite the best efforts GM made in the past months, the Ultium-based GMC Hummer EV remains an exotic presence on the streets. GM has built just one unit in the Q4 of 2021, and things are not quite rosy in Q1 2022 either. GM’s deliveries report shows the company has made 99 more units in Q1 2022, far too few to count on the market.
Despite this rather disappointing result, GM claims that GMC Hummer’s production “is going according to plan.” We believe this only as long as the plan was for GM’s customers to pay close to $300,000 for a pre-owned GMC Hummer EV truck on the grey market. Well, things are not that bad, for GM at least, as the scarcity of vehicles will allow the company to raise prices and make more money.
There is sunshine in the report though, as the company announced the Cadillac Lyriq began production on March 21, nine months ahead of schedule. This should improve the outlook for GM, especially as Chevrolet Bolt production is also expected to resume on April 4. Chevrolet already delivered 358 Bolt EV and EUV during the first quarter, based on some completed vehicles in its inventory.
We don't know what Elon Musk has to say about GM's EV delivery figures, especially as Tesla announced a record quarter. Back in January, Elon Musk greeted the 26 EVs delivered by GM with a rather laconic “Room to improve” message.
GM results were a lot better when looking at the bigger picture, with deliveries improving across the board compared to the last quarter of 2021. The semiconductor supplies allowed for higher production and market share, especially in key truck segments. In the commercial market, sales of full-size pickups were up 5%, compact SUVs up 131%, and mid-size pickups up 23%.
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