It’s looking more and more like the demand for electric vehicle trucks isn’t as high as automakers thought.
That’s the main takeaway from General Motors Oct. 17 decision to pause production on its Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV truck brands. GM says it will “re-time” the $4 billion conversion of its Michigan-based Orion Assembly plant, putting a stop to the automaker’s plan to repurpose the plant for EV truck manufacturing.
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GM is saying the decision only represents a delay in its EV truck line production. The Orion Assembly plant was supposed to be converted to EV truck production in 2024. Now GM says it’s pushing that date back to 2025 in an effort to “better manage capital investments” and boost truck building improvements that would attract more buyers, the company noted in a statement.
Currently, the Orion plant manufactures GM’s Chevrolet Bolt E and EUV, which the company is shelving by the end of this year.
The decision to pause GM’s EV trucks comes only a week after rival Ford Motor indicated it would pull one shift away from its F-150 Lightning EV pickup plant. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Ford made the decision due to lower-than-expected demand from truck buyers. An internal Ford memo indicated sales for the F-150 have “tanked,” according to The Journal.
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That’s not exactly a shock, as data streaming out over the past several months show demand for EV trucks really is low.
In fact, of all EV lines, regular pick-up truck drivers are the least likely to buy EV trucks, according to data from AutoPacific. Just 12% of full-sized and 8% of mid-sized pickup buyers tracked by AutoPacific say they’re “interested in purchasing an EV truck, as reported by Heat Map.
That shouldn’t be a surprise to automakers, the report notes.
Pickup truck buyers are typically the most engrained in their roots and opinions when it comes to straying too far from the normal pickup truck DNA,” AutoPacific product and consumer insights analyst Robby DeGraff stated. “Demand for ICE (gas/diesel powered) pickups will never fade and it rages on in popularity, but that type of demand isn’t and likely won’t ever be mirrored for EV pickups.”
General Motors stock is trading at $29.82 on Oct. 18, and share prices are down by 11.36% for the year. Ford stock shares are trading at $11.36, up 1.97% on a year-to-date basis.
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