When most people picture the Hummer vehicle, they picture the tough rugged military vehicle and/or the slightly less tough, but still rugged, brightly colored civilian vehicle that was discontinued in 2009 when General Motor’s filed for bankruptcy. These vehicles carry a perception of being big, lumbering, off-road beasts that also get terrible gas mileage. A big reason for the discontinuation of the brand was because of its lack of fuel efficiency.
Rumors started in late 2019, and sure enough, Motor Trend ran a headline stating that the Hummer is coming back and under GMC branding. GMC is manufacturing an all electric Hummer, planned for release in 2022. The largest hurtle? Convincing people that an electric Hummer can deliver just as much power and performance as their gas guzzling predecessors. GMC is currently trying to sell the world a new definition of power that is accompanied by silence. Their current ad campaign is focused on this, and even though the vehicles will not be available for two years, GMC is already trying to sell consumers the idea that the Hummer can still live up to its name while being completely silent. Starting as early as they are, I think, will be helpful in setting up this new standard, but it will be interesting to see if their early idea selling will pay off as the vehicles get closer to release.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2021-gmc-hummer-pickup-ev-is-real-power-revealed/
BoweryJE22
This certainly is a big change for Hummer, but I feel that the new product has a nice fit for part of their current target market. Sure, some people bought Hummers for their gas guzzling reputation, but I personally felt that most Hummer owners liked having a huge car that just looked nice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Hummer towing anything, so I’m wondering how much of their target market actually buys hummers for their utility rather than the overall branding and feel.