Around this time a decade ago, the United States was still limping its way out of the Great Recession. And besides businesses and financial institutions collapsing, and jobs evaporating, the economic crisis brought other fears: gas prices were up and down, surpassing $4 per gallon in 2008 which left some consumers desperate to unload their gas-guzzling vehicles.
So, when General Motors announced it was filing for bankruptcy in 2009, it was no surprise that one of the casualties in the restructuring was its Hummer brand – the hulking, military-inspired SUV that weighed so much its fuel economy was estimated at 10 mpg or less in the city.
But it all seems like a lifetime ago. GM has bounced back in a big way, leaving the Hummer in the dust and focusing on – yes, big trucks and SUVs – but also electrification, with the pledge to introduce 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023. And new rumblings suggest that the Hummer might nudge its way back into the pack, this time as an EV.
Bloomberg is reporting that anonymous sources say GM is mulling over the return of Hummer “as a way to tap growing demand for rugged SUVs with off-road capabilities while avoiding the gasoline-burning image that made the brand something of a pariah a decade ago.”
Part of GM’s path forward includes electrifying its larger pickups and SUVs, and it appears it’s possible the Hummer EV could exist on the same platform, though Bloomberg says that even if they did do this it would be years out.
GM is expected to roll out the smaller models in its electric fleet first, so the Hummer can get in line. With all this talk of “peak car,” maybe by then, we’ll have a better feel for just what America’s appetite is for very large, very expensive SUVs – electric or not.