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Ram saw the same warning signs and acted even sooner.
In September, the company canceled its electric Ram 1500 REV before it ever reached showrooms, citing “slowing demand for full-size battery electric trucks in North America.”
Instead of charging forward with a failing concept, Ram pivoted. The company rebranded its range extended hybrid Ramcharger as its new flagship electrified truck.
Two major automakers looked at the numbers and walked away.
That leaves General Motors exposed.
GM’s Electric Truck Lineup Is Barely Moving
GM currently sells three electric trucks. The Chevrolet Silverado EV, the GMC Sierra EV, and the GMC Hummer EV.
None of them are selling in meaningful numbers.
Through the first nine months of 2024, the Silverado EV moved just 9,379 units. The Sierra EV did even worse, finding only 6,147 buyers in the same period.
Together, GM’s two mainstream electric pickups sold a combined 15,526 units.
Ford’s discontinued Lightning outsold both of them combined, delivering 23,034 units through September before production ended.
Even GM’s most recognizable electric model, the Hummer EV pickup and SUV, managed only 13,233 deliveries.
That means GM operated three separate electric truck programs to sell fewer than 29,000 vehicles through three quarters.
Ford sold more electric trucks with one model and still decided it was unsustainable.
The Numbers Do Not Work
Electric trucks account for less than four percent of the full-size truck market.
Ford sold over 620,000 F-Series trucks through September. The Lightning represented a tiny fraction of that total and still managed to bleed billions of dollars.
GM is spreading those same kinds of losses across three different models.
Yes, they share the Ultium platform. But they still require separate marketing, dealer training, inventory management, and production complexity.
The Sierra EV was marketed as a premium alternative but is being outsold nearly two to one by the cheaper Silverado EV.
There is no clear reason for GM to operate two nearly identical electric pickups chasing the same tiny pool of buyers.
The Hummer EV at least offers something unique. But six figure electric off road trucks appeal to a very limited audience.
Even GM appears to know this experiment is failing.
The company delayed and then abandoned plans to convert its Orion Assembly plant into an electric truck hub, choosing instead to build gas powered trucks.
That is not confidence. That is retreat.
The Wall Street Journal reported in November that GM was considering streamlining its electric truck lineup. A GM spokesperson denied any immediate changes.
Ford executives said the same thing right before canceling the Lightning.
Trump’s Energy Policies Change the Equation
President Trump’s return to office has completely altered the EV landscape.
The administration ended the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit that artificially propped up sales. Without taxpayer subsidies, demand collapsed.
U.S. EV sales fell about 40 percent in November after the $7,500 consumer tax credit expired on September 30.
Third quarter numbers were inflated by buyers rushing to beat the deadline. What followed was a steep drop that exposed true consumer demand.
Trump’s America First energy policies are driving fuel prices down and restoring common sense to transportation.
Meanwhile, electric trucks remain wildly expensive. The average electric pickup costs more than $80,000, while gas powered trucks still start around $40,000.
Working Americans are not buying into Biden’s electric truck fantasy.
Ford and Ram saw the writing on the wall and exited.
GM is still pretending three money losing electric trucks will somehow succeed where one already failed.
If GM is serious about stopping the bleeding, the Sierra EV should be the first to go. It offers nothing the Silverado EV does not, except a higher price.
But corporate pride may delay the inevitable.
Trump is restoring energy sanity. Detroit is being forced to face reality. And General Motors may soon learn the hard way that ideology does not sell trucks.
