The highly awaited 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV has begun production at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly factory, also known as Factory Zero. The vehicle with the VIN 001 sold for $500,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction.

According to the American automaker, consumers will start receiving their reserved vehicles at the end of the first quarter, according to The Detroit News, which reports that GMC started constructing the first Hummer EV SUVs on January 30.

The future Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV, which are constructed on the same Ultium platform as the Hummer, are being produced at the same plant as the all-electric SUV and truck version of the Hummer.

During a business roundtable, Duncan Aldred, global vice president of GMC and Buick, stated that a significant ramp-up in manufacturing is planned for the second half of 2023 but refrained from providing exact on-sale dates or projected production levels. 

The American truck manufacturer had reported receiving over 90,000 reservations for the Hummer EV's pickup and SUV models, with Duncan Aldred noting that roughly 50–60% of those reservations were for the pickup.

According to Aldred, this car is currently the most sought-after on the entire planet. 'As we had it positioned, it really is a tremendous truck.'

Just over 850 Hummer EV pickup trucks were produced by GMC between late 2021 and 2022, with the manufacturing lines being halted for a few weeks in preparation for the Silverado EV last year.

Three electric motors in the 2024 Hummer EV Edition 1 SUV provide all-wheel drive and up to 830 horsepower, enabling the all-electric car to reach 60 mph in around 3.5 seconds. The SUV is 9 inches shorter than the pickup truck and retains the fascinating CrabWalk function that allows the vehicle to drive diagonally. It also has the same 800-volt and 300 kilowatts DC rapid charging capabilities.

An auction was held to raise money for Tread Lightly!, a nonprofit organisation devoted to encouraging outdoor recreation via sustainability and educational initiatives. The first production Hummer EV SUV was sold. The NGO will use the proceeds from the sale of the Hummer to fund trail preservation initiatives and to advance outdoor ethics.

The company announced annual production of 782 and bookings of roughly 90,000 for the truck and SUV variants in October 2022. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, GM was only able to produce 12 Hummer EVs a day during the summer of 2010.

The Hummers are massive vehicles; the truck's unveiling showed that its battery alone weighed 2,923 pounds, which is nearly as much as a full-size Honda Civic.

Recent public remarks by National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy focused on the growing size and weight of automobiles, drawing attention to this problem.

Concerned about the increased risk of severe injury and death for all road users due to larger curb weights and increasing size, power, and performance of cars on our roads (including electric vehicles), she brought up the Hummer's gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds.

She voiced her concern that larger curb weights raised the danger of serious injury and death for all road users. (She also mentioned that Ford, Volvo, and Toyota's electrified vehicles were noticeably heavier than their gasoline-powered counterparts.)

In light of this irony, GM has announced that it will auction off the first production Hummer SUV and give the money to a group called 'Tread Lightly!'

The goal of this group is to strike a balance between the needs of outdoor recreationists and the preservation of ecosystems and wildlife populations across the country.

I am thrilled that the nonprofit will receive $500,000, but I seriously doubt that anyone can move cautiously while operating a Hummer EV SUV.