Could GM beat Tesla to the electric-van punch next year?
Photo: General Motors
General Motors’ dedication to an all-electric future for its vehicles has been well documented for years. The company continues to push for innovations in EV technology, and that push has been rumored to involve work vans for a while now. A report by the Detroit Free Press back in December 2019 was the first to announce these plans, and recent information has revealed that a new electric work van is officially on the way.
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GM’s new electric work van
In the aforementioned December report, news came that GM had entered a new four-year contract with the UAW to produce an all-electric van at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant. In a new report from Reuters on June 4, it was revealed that this van will be manufactured as a work vehicle for businesses including Amazon and United Parcel Service Inc. Code-named the BV1, this new electric work van is expected to enter production in late 2021. It will likely share the same Ultium battery system as other GM-produced EVs that are currently in development.
This is a big move for GM’s electric ambitions. Getting an electric van on the market by next year means beating Tesla to the punch. With GM investing $3 billion to completely retool the Detroit-Hamtramck plant for the production of EVs, this desire to beat Elon Musk at his own game is getting close to paying off. The plant is scheduled to reopen in mid-2021.
Despite the report, GM spokesman Stuart Fowle said the company is not currently confirming the van’s existence. “General Motors is committed to an all-electric future and is implementing a multi-segment, scalable EV strategy to get there,” Fowle said to the Detroit Free Press. “At this time, we do not have any announcements to make regarding electric commercial vehicles.”
Regardless of this, the van is still expected to hit the streets next year. According to the Reuters report, GM is currently undecided about whether it will sell the van through Chevrolet, GMC, or another brand altogether.
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Will General Motors succeed in getting the first electric work vans on the market? Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
Daniel DiManna hails from little Sylvania, Ohio. A graduate of Lourdes University with a degree in Fine Arts (which has thus far proven about as useful as a wet paper towel), Daniel’s hobbies/passions include film history, reading, fiction/non-fiction writing, sculpting, gaining weight, and adding more toys, posters, books, model kits, DVD’s, screen-used props, and other ephemera to his already shamefully monumental collection of Godzilla/movie monster memorabilia. His life goals include a return trip to Japan, getting a podcast off the ground, finishing his novel, and yes, buying even more monster toys. See more articles by Daniel.
