GM is readying an electric pickup
General Motors has an all-electric pickup truck in the works, as it prepares for what Mary Barra has described as an "all-electric future".
Speaking at the quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, the GM CEO said her company has "an industry-leading truck franchise and industry-leading electrification capabilities".
"I assure you we will not cede our leadership on either front," she said.
"We intend to create an all-electric future that includes a complete range of EVs, including full-size pickups.”
That's the most concrete confirmation from Barra, or anyone at General Motors for that matter, a plug-in Silverado or GMC is in the pipeline.
The US carmaker giant already has the all-electric Bolt in its line-up and is planning 20 electric vehicles over the next five years, but Barra previously told a room full of university students GM has only given a "tiny bit" of thought to a plug-in pickup.
Mike Abelson, vice president of GM global strategy, has also categorically claimed there won't be autonomous or electric trucks developed, with the company instead expecting to make most of its revenue from petrol-powered vehicles.
"The core business is going to be the core business for a couple of decades to come," he told The Detroit Free Press.
The news comes after Ford announced it will invest US$500 ($700) million in Rivian, the electric ute startup, with plans to build a car on its platform.