My first thought whenever I see someone driving a Hummer is, “okay so you’re a total douche who hates the environment then.” Although I’ve always liked the look of Hummers, the fact that their mpg might as well be 0 turned me off because gas is expensive and that’s awful for the already struggling environment. But the new 2022 GMC Hummer EV is removing that stigma. They are the exact opposite of a gas guzzler: a fully electric vehicle.
The Hummer EV is signaling a new, eco-friendly future for GM
GMC is on this whole “triple zero vision” wave right now — zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. They making a $20 billion investment to pivot to electric vehicle production. So now seems like the perfect time to resuscitate and reinvent the Hummer brand that was discontinued in 2010. This fully battery-powered vehicle has a 350-mile range on a single charge. But it doesn’t sacrifice any power for this battery. It has 1,000 horsepower and can go from 0-60 in 3 seconds. And it has this cool feature called “crab walk mode” where it basically moves diagonally.
This new Hummer EV will be decidedly less militaristic and more ultra-luxury than its predecessor. Although it’s staying true to its rugged, off-roading roots, GM redesigned it inside and out to have more of a luxe feel. A huge difference between this new version and the old one is that it is definitely a truck rather than an SUV. This was intentional.
Trucks are a massive consumer demand. In 2019, the 3 best-selling vehicles were all trucks. But with increasing pressure from consumers, government, and grassroots organizations, there’s starting to be a push for electric trucks. Tesla’s weird futuristic Cybertruck was one of the first major hints of this. It looks like GM is trying to capitalize on this moment and break into the market of ultra-loyal truck buyers.
So how much does it cost?
Have I sold you on the new Hummer EV yet? I felt like I was sold at first… but then I saw the price.
$112,595. That’s the cost of a starter house in my hometown in West Michigan. And thaat’s where I tap out.
But apparently, the price hasn’t scared everyone off. To those who have the means and really care about the specs, it’s worth it. GM’s first year pre-orders for the new Hummer were sold out in an hour. This may be due to high demand or to low volume, though. We’ll have to see how this shakes out when it actually drops in fall of 2021.
It was a weird branding move for sure, but was it right for the Customer Experience? See how CX and Branding go hand-in-hand in our free eBook.
Hannah Michelle Lambert is the Digital Marketer at Worthix, as well as the host of the monthly CX News Recap segment. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
