CarBrandLogos archive · Hummer · 2021

HummerHummer EV

Four and a half tonnes of electric pickup that can also drive diagonally.

Photo: MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Hummer history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Hummer EV, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

General Motors revived the name in November 2021, this time as a GMC model rather than a brand of its own, and built it at the renamed Factory Zero plant in Detroit-Hamtramck. The platform is GM's Ultium skateboard, with a very large battery beneath the floor and two or three motors depending on version, driving the rear wheels or all four.

2022 Cleveland Auto Show · Erik Drost · CC BY 2.0

Design and engineering

The party tricks are real engineering. Four-wheel steering allows CrabWalk, in which the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts and the vehicle moves diagonally, useful for repositioning on a narrow trail. Extract Mode raises the air suspension for extra clearance, removable roof panels store in the front boot, and GM advertised the first Edition 1 with a four-figure horsepower figure and acceleration that no vehicle of this mass has any business producing.

2023 Hummer EV SUT interior · deathpallie325 · CC BY-SA 4.0

2024 GMC Hummer EV3X SUV, rear left, 10-29-2023

In production

Mass is also the criticism. The battery alone weighs about as much as a small car, and reviewers and researchers pointed out that the emissions saved by not burning fuel are offset by the resources required to build something so heavy. An SUV body followed the pickup. It is an impressive machine and an odd argument for electrification at the same time.

2024 GMC Hummer EV3X SUV, rear left, 10-29-2023 · MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2021–present

Body

4-door pickup truck

Technical specification

The Hummer EV, in detail.

Production: November 2021 – present
Class: Full-size SUV; Full-size pickup truck
Body style: 4-door pickup truck; 5-door SUV
Layout: Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout; Dual-motors, rear-wheel drive (Hummer EV2) ; All-wheel drive; Dual- or tri-motors, all-wheel drive (Hummer EV2X and EV3X)
Transmission: Single-speed
Designer: Rick Scheer (director of design); Brett Goliff (interior); Scott Martin (UX); Samir Datta (lighting)
Assembly: United States: Detroit, Michigan (Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly)
Manufacturer: GMC (General Motors)