GMC to Relaunch Hummer as Electric Vehicle

GMC to Relaunch Hummer as Electric Vehicle

America’s General Motors, or GM, is bringing back its Hummer truck. The new truck will different from earlier versions of the Hummer. This time, it will be fully electric.

The automaker announced last week it plans to begin selling the battery-powered vehicle, called the Hummer EV, in September of 2021.

The new Hummer appeared in a television advertisement during the Super Bowl game last Sunday. However, only a small part of the front of the truck was shown. The ad attempted to show the contrasting nature of the vehicle: That it is a large, powerful truck, yet operates in complete silence.

GM says it will introduce the truck to the public on May 20. So far, the company has provided few details about it.

The Hummer EV’s battery will give the truck about 1,000 horsepower, GM said on its website. The vehicle can go from 0 to 97 kilometers per hour in three seconds. The automaker did not name a selling price or say how far the truck can go on a single battery charge.

A GM spokeswoman told The Associated Press the new truck will have some design elements similar to the old one, but will not look like the Hummer of the past.

The first Hummer, launched in the 1990s, was modeled after the Humvee vehicle used by United States military forces. The vehicle became popular in the early 2000s with lovers of large trucks and sport utility vehicles, or SUVs. Many Americans liked its off-road abilities.

But GM dropped the Hummer in 2010 after experiencing financial difficulties. Sales suffered big drops after fuel prices rose in the summer of 2008. Environmental groups criticized the non-fuel efficient vehicles for wasting energy resources.

GM said the new Hummer would be built at a factory in Detroit that was set to close. The company said it was investing $2.2 billion to modernize the Detroit-area plant to produce new electric trucks and SUVs.

Several other carmakers – including Ford and Tesla – are also planning to launch battery-powered trucks and SUVs in the future.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. was the editor.

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Words in This Story

battery – n. an object that provides electricity for things

contrast – v. a clear difference between two things

horsepower – n. a unit for measuring the power of an engine

sport utility vehicle – n. a larger vehicle designed to transport cargo and people and sometimes built to travel over rough roads

efficient – adj. not wasting time or energy