GMC Targets Electric Truck Leadership Against Tesla, Ford, Rivian

Milford, Michigan — General Motors Luxury brand GMC is aiming to become the leader in all-electric truck sales to consumers in the United States with the launch of its new Sierra electric truck.

The Sierra EV joins electric versions of the Hummer, including an SUV and a pickup truck, in GMC’s electric “truck” lineup. The automaker expects the Sierra to become the best-selling GMC EV with lower-priced versions available next year. The roughly $100,000 “Edition 1” of the vehicle recently began arriving to customers.

“We think this is a very different proposition than anything anyone has ever put out before,” Duncan Aldred, global vice president of GMC, told CNBC at GM’s proving grounds in suburban Detroit. “So we’re confident in the demand.”

GMC hasn’t revealed a timeline for when it expects the brand to lead retail electric truck sales. But to do so, it will have to outpace its Chevrolet Silverado EV sibling as well as rivals from Ford Motor Company, Rivian Automotive and Teslawhich Motor Intelligence reports led sales with its Cybertruck in the second quarter.

Aldred said he believes there will be competition between the Sierra and Cybertruck, but he doesn’t necessarily think they are primary competitors, even though the vehicles are priced similarly. Citing internal data, he said many Cybertruck buyers already own Teslas, while roughly 80% of GMC Sierra reservation holders previously owned non-GMC vehicles.

“What we know is that about 70 percent of Cybertruck buyers are Tesla owners,” he said at a media event. “So they’re not necessarily truck buyers, they’re Tesla buyers.”

Automakers like General Motors have been quick to roll out all-electric pickup trucks, in part because Tesla Inc. has been planning to build such a vehicle. That has raised concerns that the U.S. electric car leader could dominate the truck market, which is critical to Detroit’s automakers, as it has for electric cars.

But adoption of electric vehicles has been slower than many expected, and the electric truck market is still in its infancy.

The all-electric pickup truck market was about 38,500 units in the first half of the year, including retail and fleet sales, according to Motor Intelligence. That compares with more than 1 million conventional or hybrid full-size pickup trucks sold this year through June.

According to Motor Intelligence, the Ford F-150 Lightning led all-electric truck sales in June with 15,645 units. The Tesla Cybertruck followed with about 11,600 units during that period, including 8,755 units in the second quarter, according to the automotive data and analytics firm.

GMC's Hummer truck sales, which have been slow to ramp up production and sales, were below 1,500 vehicles, including about 1,100 during the second quarter, according to Motor Intelligence.

“This is a very nascent market,” said Stephanie Brinley, principal auto analyst at S&P Global Mobility. “It’s all baby steps. GM’s confidence in its ability to be a leader in this space is justified given its history with trucks and its understanding of the potential for electrification. The big question now is how quickly consumers will adopt electric trucks, more than the product features.”

Including all-electric SUVs from brands that some companies like General Motors have reported truck sales of, Rivian is the clear leader through the first half of the year with more than 22,700 R1S SUVs and R1Ts. That compares with GMC’s Hummer SUV and pickup models, which sold about 4,600 units.

Aldred said GM expects to ramp up production of the Sierra EV — including the AT4 off-road model and the entry-level Elevation coming next year — faster than Hummer models, which have taken years to build. GM said it expects to start production of the Denali version of the vehicle in the fourth quarter.

The Sierra EV is now GM's third electric pickup truck, following the Hummer and the new Chevrolet Silverado that began arriving at dealerships in December.

Perhaps the Sierra EV's closest competitor is the Chevy Silverado EV. Both are built on GM's “Ultium” vehicle platform and share many parts, features, and performance characteristics.

The Detroit automaker has been able to differentiate its vehicles through their interior and exterior designs, as well as brand personalities.

“Chevrolet has really focused on the fleet side,” Aldred said. “We’re really focused on the retail side, as we have with (GMC internal combustion engine) trucks. When you look at it, the EV truck space is a distinct space.”

There's currently a pricier Sport version of the Silverado available for around $96,500 and a work truck for commercial customers and fleets, starting at around $67,000.

The Sierra is more elegant and luxurious than its Chevy counterpart: It has open-pore wood, larger overall screens, a standard hands-free highway driving system, GMC's “Crab” mode with four-wheel steering and other features.

“GM has been very good at differentiating between GMC and Chevrolet,” said Brinley of S&P Global. “The GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado EV look very different from each other, and GM has worked with those two customers very well for decades. They understand what they need to do to make something attractive to a GMC buyer versus a Chevrolet buyer, and they are very different.”

Both vehicles have an EPA-rated range of 440 miles, offer up to 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque, and, importantly for many truck customers, they also tow up to 10,000 pounds and can charge 100 miles in about 10 minutes using a DC fast charger.

A unique feature of the Silverado and Sierra EVs compared to other vehicles is the ability to offer a “middle door,” where the rear seats of the vehicle fold down and the rear window can be removed to create a truck bed that is about 11 feet long and a large cargo area.

The Sierra EV, including the Denali version, is expected to continue to help GMC with its pricing power and reputation as a premium truck brand, according to Patrick Finnegan, senior marketing manager for GMC trucks and SUVs.

GMC has been able to increase average transaction prices for its high-end models thanks to the newer AT4 off-road vehicles as well as the Denali, which celebrates its 25th year as a GMC sub-brand.

For example, the average GMC Sierra pickup truck trade-in price is about $60,000. That includes the Denali models, which start at about $71,000, and the Denali Ultimate, which starts at $78,500, according to the company.

GM hasn’t announced pricing for the GMC Sierra Denali, AT4 and Elevation electric models that will follow the 2,500-unit “Edition 1.” But Aldred said the Sierra could qualify for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits, which would put it at less than $80,000.

Denali models have evolved from simple modifications that set them apart from other vehicles to offering their own interiors, trims, and features. The vehicles still largely share the same “body” but offer more luxurious features and materials.

GMC said about 34 percent of GMC’s retail sales are Denali models. That’s up from 18 percent a decade ago and 30 percent in 2019. The sales have helped GMC in what is expected to be seven straight years of growth for the brand.

“This will continue to help protect our space in the premium mid-market transaction price space,” Finnegan said. “It will help us open up to new customers. We intend to be the leader in electric vehicle trucks, and we will have a broader product portfolio to really help us achieve that.”