WARREN, Mich. — General Motors on Wednesday pulled back the curtain on 10 new electric vehicles that it says will drive the company's more than $20 billion investment in a battery-propelled future.
At a gathering for reporters and investors beneath a dome-shaped event space on GM's Tech Center campus, the company unveiled clay-and-plastic mockups of the hotly anticipated Hummer EV SUV and "SUT" — the latter a "sport-utility truck" featuring a pickup truck bed and drop-top roof.
Both Hummer vehicles will boast three motors — one in front and two in the back — and a double stack of 26 battery modules, roughly twice as many as GM's other EV offerings.
It also revealed the EV version of the Cadillac Escalade, as well as a smaller Cadillac SUV, called the "Lyriq," a Chevrolet SUV, a Buick SUV, and a Buick crossover. Shared, too, was a rendering of an unnamed Chevrolet electric pickup.
CEO Mary Barra and president Mark Reuss concluded the event by pulling the cover from a surprise unveil: the Celestiq, pronounced "suh-less-tick," an elongated Cadillac four-door sports sedan.
"This is the future Cadillac flagship sedan that will set another even higher standard for what a luxury EV experience should be," Barra said.
The Bolt EUV is set to launch in September 2021, and the Cadillac Lyriq SUV is scheduled to make its public debut in April. The reveal of the Hummer EV is slated for May 20, with production expected to begin in Fall 2021 at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which will be GM’s first plant entirely dedicated to EV production.
The event was shrouded in secrecy: GM prohibited photos and even cell phones from the event, requiring guests to leave their laptops behind and stash their phones in signal-killing pouches. Voice recorders were provided to those who otherwise relied on their iPhones to record interviews.
It capped a nearly three-day "Immersion" for about a dozen reporters in GM's shift into electric vehicles. Throughout, GM emphasized what it worked to portray as its advantages — its manufacturing expertise, its institutional knowledge, and its dealer network — compared to established direct-to-consumer startups like Tesla and up-and-comers still set to launch such as Rivian, Lucid Motors, and Lordstown Motors.
The company plans to invest some $20 billion in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure through 2025.
"We'll offer them EVs from every brand, in every segment, in every body-style, at every price point, and in every part of the country," Barra said.
