Hummer Coming Back as a GMC Makes a Lot of Sense

The 2020s is already shaping up to be a decade that will be remembered in the automotive world as a time of monumental risks for General Motors. The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette finally has a mid-engine configuration, making one of the greatest tall tales in car history a reality, and the legendary Hummer is coming back. However, it isn’t coming back in a way that anyone could have seen coming.

Let’s rewind the clock a bit. Over the last few months, there have been murmurs in internet car circles with rumors of GM coming out with a Hummer EV. To be quite honest, I thought this rumor was probably bologna the first time I heard it. Why would GM bring back Hummer, a brand that has become infamous for falling flat on its face? Even if Hummer did return, why would it be electric? I thought this rumor was simply too far-fetched and didn’t pay much attention to it.

Then the seemingly impossible happened early in 2020. GM came out and confirmed that yes, the Hummer EV is on the way. It dropped a teaser image and told us we’d hear more in the form of a Super Bowl commercial. More information has come out (official information, not just rumors) and what crazy information it is. GM is claiming the Hummer EV will have 1,000 horsepower, 11,500 lb-ft of torque and will achieve 0-60 miles per hour in three seconds. That’s right, the most powerful GM product of all time will be an electric Hummer.

But there’s one nugget of information about the new Hummer EV that seems to be getting overlooked. To me, one of the biggest mysteries about the Hummer EV was what brand it would be sold under. Is GM really bringing back the whole Hummer brand just for one model? Will they sell it as a Chevy? The answer is one that’s actually pretty obvious when you give it some thought. The Hummer EV will be a GMC product, which I think makes perfect sense.

GMC is GM’s truck and SUV brand that is always trying to stand out as a premium brand. Every GMC product has a Chevrolet counterpart and while the GMC lineup is respectable and has some truly competitive offerings, there isn’t a whole lot that makes it stand out aside from the Denali sub-brand and the MultiPro tailgate on the Sierra pickups. But after the GMC Hummer EV comes out, GM’s truck brand will suddenly be getting a lot more attention.

Think about it — GMC dealers are usually paired up with Buick dealers. As it stands right now, there isn’t a single new car on a Buick/GMC lot that is powered by electrons. I’m not just talking about the absence of EVs. There isn’t even a plug-in hybrid or a conventional hybrid that can be had from either of these brands. I just wrote a few months ago about how both of these brands need a halo car and apparently GM was way ahead of me on that because now GMC is getting a halo truck to dominate all other trucks.

As of this writing, we don’t know anything about pricing, availability or even what the whole truck looks like. A full unveiling will take place on May 20, 2020 at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where it will be built and I’m sure we’ll have more information to report then. Until then, I’m looking forward to hearing what else GM has in store for its "quiet revolution." Find a GMC for sale