GM sets electric pickup for 2021, as Lordstown Motors reveals price and takes orders
DETROIT — On the same day Elon Musk was preparing to reveal the long-prophesied Tesla pickup in California, two other automakers on Thursday laid out the timetable for their own electric pickups — with one of them setting a price and taking orders.
General Motors' first electric pickup truck model will go on sale in the fall of 2021, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said, perhaps around the same time that electric carmaker Tesla's own pickup will be ready. Until now, GM had not given a date for when its first electric pickup truck would hit the market.
"General Motors understands truck buyers and ... people who are new coming into the truck market," Barra said at an investor conference in New York. "It will be a very capable truck, I'm pretty excited about it."
The No. 1 U.S. automaker has so far given few details on its planned line of electric pickup trucks. But Reuters reported last month that GM plans to build a new family of premium electric pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant beginning in late 2021, possibly reviving the imposing Hummer brand on some of them.
Separately, startup Lordstown Motors said on Thursday it is now accepting pre-orders for its electric pickup truck, the Endurance (shown above).
The truck will cost $52,500 before tax credits.
The Endurance is due to go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2020. The company, which is 10% owned by Workhorse Group, recently bought GM's shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio.
Lordstown Motors said its initial focus will be to sell to corporate fleets, but the Endurance will also be available to consumers. Lordstown's press release said that 6,000 pre-orders for the Workhorse W-15 electric pickup would also be built at the plant, which the company apparently bought lock, stock and barrel from GM:
"The quality and precision of the production robotics and equipment in the Lordstown facility is evident," said Rich Schmidt, chief production officer of Lordstown Motors and former Tesla manufacturing director. "Our team feels this is a factor to help us hit the ground running in building the Endurance pickup truck."
Pickup trucks are one of the most profitable vehicle segments in the world. The U.S. market is dominated by GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. Ford also intends to sell an electric F-series pickup truck in late 2021.
Musk will reveal the Tesla pickup Thursday evening but has not yet provided a specific timetable. Last month, Musk described the Tesla pickup as "closer to an armored personnel carrier from the future."
Analysts have said they expect the Tesla pickup to debut in late 2021 or early 2022.
