General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (GM) has said it will close reservations for its electric GMC Hummer pickup and the forthcoming GMC Hummer SUV after more than 90,000 of the vehicles were reserved, CNBC reported.
The number of reservations is notable because of the starting prices of the vehicles, which range between roughly $85,000 and $111,000, the report added, noting that closing the reservations is a way for the automaker to attempt to fulfill the current list of reserved vehicles, which extends out to at least 2024.
GM plans to close reservations for both vehicles starting today, September 22, 2022. The automaker has been slowly ramping up production of the Hummer EV pickup since earlier this year, CNBC said. As of the end of June 2022, the company had sold less than 400 of the vehicles. The SUV version is expected to begin arriving at dealers and customers starting in early 2023, it added.
READ: Hertz and General Motors ink deal to deploy up to 175,000 electric vehicles
Duncan Aldred, global head of GM had told CNBC that production of the SUV should happen more quickly than the pickup, which was the first consumer vehicle to feature GM’s next-generation Ultium batteries and vehicle platform.
“We knew it would be a slow ramp. But next year, when you look at the calendar year, I think you’ll see a normalized year,” he told CNBC at the Detroit auto show last week. “When we produce SUV, that should get into stride right away … Next year is a big year for Hummer EV, both truck and SUV.”
GM’s decision follows Ford Motor shutting down reservations for its electric F-150 Lightning pickup after hitting roughly 200,000 units. It also had shut down reservations for the electric Mustang Mach-E crossover, but they have since reopened.
On Wednesday, Hertz Global Holdings Inc said it plans to order up to 175,000 GM electric vehicles (EVs) over the next five years, in the rental car company's latest move toward zero-emission models, Reuters reported.
The multi-billion dollar, multi-year deal could be the first of many GM agreements to supply EVs to rental car companies, said Steve Carlisle, GM's North American operations chief, on a conference call. Carlisle noted that GM is in talks about similar deals with other rental car companies, the newswire said.
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