The Army picked General Motors to provide them with a GMC Hummer EV for a test drive as the service looks to fill a requirement for a light- to heavy-duty battery electric vehicle to reduce the military’s reliance on fossil fuels in garrison and in the field.
GM’s all-electric pickup-model Hummer features 1,000 horsepower with a 24-module, double-stacked Ultium battery pack. It offers almost 330 miles of combined driving range with its first edition and can go from 0-to-60 mph in as little as 3 seconds, according to the company.
“Leveraging GM’s advanced technology, this demonstration will prove to our U.S. Army customer what an all-electric supertruck can do and how the underlying technology can be leveraged for future defense needs, whether on an installation or in a tactical environment,” Steve DuMont, president of GM Defense, a subsidiary of General Motors, said in a statement.
GM Defense said it is leveraging the company’s $35 billion investment in electric vehicles and autonomous vehicle technology to help lead the government’s transition to a more electric future.
“With access to GM’s advanced technologies, GM Defense is able to provide proven commercial technologies adapted to meet specific defense requirements and the needs of our customers,” Mr. DuMont said.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has called climate change “an existential threat” and said it was vital for the Pentagon to respond to the challenge.
“Today, no nation can find lasting security without addressing the climate crisis,” he said in April 2021. “Climate change is making the world more unsafe and we need to act.”