Photo: GMC
The Detroit Auto Show is all over the news these days, despite being far from its former glory regarding car launches. With fewer vehicles to talk about, industry insiders focused on trends and policies. In talks with Autoblog, GMC’s marketing director Rich Latek revealed that the interest in the GMC Hummer EV is still strong.
We kind of knew that, based on the fact that many people are willing to pay almost triple the MSRP to get hold of the monster electric truck that uses GM’s Ultium technology. And yet, finding out just how many reservations GMC got for the Hummer EV is eye-popping. According to Autoblog, the number of reservations keeps climbing and has now reached 90,000 for both the pickup and the SUV. There’s no relief in sight either unless GM stops taking more reservations.
Almost all reservation holders follow through on purchases, with over a 90% conversion rate. This is understandable, considering that most buyers treat their purchase as an investment. With the crazy prices on the used-car market, they can be sure to at least double the money paid. Many of these orders are for the higher trims, meaning GMC should have pockets full of cash.
Although the GM brand boasts about so many reservations, keeping all those potential customers happy is not an easy task. Recent production figures revealed by GM Authority show that GMC built a maximum of 400 units in May. It was only downhill then, with only 50 Hummer EVs produced in August. Even if GMC steps up its game to 1,000 units a month (which it won’t, at least for the foreseeable future) and the conversion rate drops to 75%, fulfilling all those orders would take more than five years.
Obviously, GM had to choose where to place their bets when faced with a limited supply of batteries. In this case, the GMC Hummer EV got the back burner, while the Cadillac Lyriq production saw a boost. The situation should change as GM opens more battery production facilities, with Warren, Ohio, already coming online this month.
Almost all reservation holders follow through on purchases, with over a 90% conversion rate. This is understandable, considering that most buyers treat their purchase as an investment. With the crazy prices on the used-car market, they can be sure to at least double the money paid. Many of these orders are for the higher trims, meaning GMC should have pockets full of cash.
Although the GM brand boasts about so many reservations, keeping all those potential customers happy is not an easy task. Recent production figures revealed by GM Authority show that GMC built a maximum of 400 units in May. It was only downhill then, with only 50 Hummer EVs produced in August. Even if GMC steps up its game to 1,000 units a month (which it won’t, at least for the foreseeable future) and the conversion rate drops to 75%, fulfilling all those orders would take more than five years.
Obviously, GM had to choose where to place their bets when faced with a limited supply of batteries. In this case, the GMC Hummer EV got the back burner, while the Cadillac Lyriq production saw a boost. The situation should change as GM opens more battery production facilities, with Warren, Ohio, already coming online this month.
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