GM is starting to deliver its luxurious electric Hummer EV pickup

More than a year after that unveiling, General Motors proudly announced that they are now delivering their Hummer EV Edition 1 Pickup, a 9000-pound (4082 kg) luxury electric beast with a 1000 horsepower engine that can go from 0 to 60 mph (96 km / h) in three seconds. The message: You can do your part to save the planet, if you are rich then.

In a press release On Friday, GM announced the beginning of a “new era” for the company, marked by delivery of its first next-generation electric cars. Unfortunately, the new era is headed by Hummer EV Edition 1, a $ 110,295 car with an estimated 329 miles (529 kilometers) range, “modular sky panels”, the ability to make a “crabwalk” and run diagonally, and a “extraction mode” to navigate over boulders and water.

Fortunately, this is not GM’s latest EV. The company, which works towards selling only zero emissions cars and trucks by 2035, plans to launch 30 new electric vehicles over the next four years. According to the release, two-thirds of these new cars will be available in North America.

“Both commercial and private customers will benefit from the EV experience, from exciting acceleration to low operating costs, versatility and the ability to customize after the sale,” said GM President Mark Reuss in a statement. “GM is ideally positioned to offer electric cars for every customer in every segment, retail or commercial.”

Although I understand that it makes business sense to make one electric vehicle for certain customer segments, which debuts with a luxury electric truck like this when the planet is in crisis is scary. We must electrify everything, and quickly, to cope with climate change. ONEAlthough the all-electric Hummer EV Edition 1 is a (unnecessary) example of the change we need, the price tag will keep it out of reach of the majority, which is exactly the opposite of what is needed. (It reports Electrek that cheaper versions of the Hummer EV, which starts at $ 80,000, will start to hit the market over the next two years).

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Do not be fooled into thinking that GM does not know how to make cars that benefit the planet and its business. In addition to launching the Hummer EV Edition 1, GM also began shipping its BrightDrop EV600 electric vans to FedEx customer, who has ordered 500 EV600s. EV600 can travel 250 miles (402 kilometers) at maximum charge and carry up to 2200 pounds (997 kilograms).

FedEx Sustainability Manager Mitch Jackson told CNBC that sustainability is a core part of the business and that it looked at the scalability of electric vehicles.

“We use a lot of vehicles in our operation, and we need a lot of vehicles to make a significant difference in our operations,” Jackson said at the point of sale. “We need that scale, and we need that productivity.”

The world also needs many electric vehicles to make a significant difference in its response to the climate crisis. These vehicles must be accessible to all and designed with the majority society’s needs in mind. In other words, they are very different from Hummer EV Edition 1.