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After years of arguing that truck buyers want increasingly larger vehicles, automakers are seeing the light and realizing that many people want smaller, more efficient pickups. I do. Maybe.
Following explosive sales of the Ford Maverick and relatively strong sales of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, GM appears to have had a craze for “light trucks with efficient powertrains.” Well, at least designers have fallen into that rare and hopefully incurable condition.
During a tour of GM’s design center in Warren, Michigan, the automaker gave Ars Technica a glimpse into its thoughts on the future of EVs.
It’s a bright yellow, all-electric, single-cab pickup that’s smaller than the Maverick. Even if it did hit the market, it would be a design study, a huge “if”, but the cost would be less than his $30,000.
The setup looked like a beach party. On the back wall of the vehicle was an image of young tanned people exploding in front of a small truck.The front of a small, futuristic adventure truck with his end sloping and a 2nd generation Geo It reminded me of the Storm, but the headlights were on the surface. A tonneau covered his 4.5-foot bed and the cab-to-bed triangular design element also found in the upcoming Silverado EV. A low-floor vehicle that creates a sporty yet fun atmosphere. It reminded me of a sportier version of the very nice but weird Nissan Gobi concept from 1990.
The car looked like this, but it’s shorter and has less ’90s hair.
Nissan
The Chevy-badged vehicle has no name, as it serves as a design test for EVs under $30,000. Chevrolet’s Affordable EV and Crossover His Director of Design Mike Pebovar told his Ars during the event:
During our short studio tour, Pevovar also showed us what looks like an EV wagon covered in black cloth. We also saw a clay model of the crossover that’s a bit more sophisticated than his upcoming Chevy Equinox EV. The bright yellow party truck was the highlight of the tour, but the beginning of the walkthrough gave us a glimpse into his study of designing a small SUV with rear tires. It looked like some kind of miniature electric Bronco or Defender.
Besides wagons (because the US hates wagons for some reason), it’s easy to see that these vehicles work well as sub-$30,000 EVs. Trucks should probably have more back seats, but if Ford learns anything from his Maverick, people want to be able to efficiently haul things in something that’s easy to park on the street.
Earlier in the day, GM connected us via satellite to their California design studio in North Hollywood. During the call, Brian Smith, director of design for GM California Advanced Design, gave the assembled audience a quick introduction to the sustainable off-road his pickup the West Coast team is working on. The front-right bumper was barely visible, but the grille was clearly a continuation of what we’ve seen on Hummer trucks and SUVs. This vehicle was smaller than those and looked similar to a Ford Maverick, but was lifted by off-road tires.
“It will be a highly configurable and customizable vehicle that can be used both in urban and off-road, with a strong focus on sustainability,” said Smith. The use of ‘sustainability’ here is a code for ‘electricity’. While we weren’t able to get a closer look at the vehicle, we do know that it will have four front-facing cameras and a new display interface with real-time rendering. The California team is also working on new app integrations for vehicles.
Given the quirkiness of the Hummer lineup, it’s outrageous that the Hummer brand could be associated with a “very capable off-roader” with a ridiculous number of technologically advanced features. No, Smith said. Details of the pick-up will be shared later.
GM plans to introduce sub-$30,000 electric vehicles in 2027. This would not be the case with any vehicle I saw during the design studio tour. That car, truck, or SUV may be hidden from view. Instead, the automaker turned to a world where customers take a chance on something fun rather than following the herd and buying yet another SUV. High-end vehicles make sense, but we need to make room in our lives for EV party trucks, and GM’s designers are happy to make that a reality.
