General Motors Replies Regarding Why GMC Hummer EV Emissions Are So High

According to a recent study published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the GMC Hummer EV produces more emissions than a Chevrolet Malibu ICE sedan. General Motors has now replied that the reason for the electric Hummer’s inefficiency is the fact that it is a “performance-oriented EV” which favors going fast over being frugal.

And GM is certainly right, there are few EVs currently on the market that can even hope to match its level of promised excitement - this is a 9,050-pound off-road-ready electric pickup truck that also has 1,000 horsepower and can hit 60 mph in 3 seconds and 90 mph in under 9 secons. It does need a massive 212.7 kWh battery pack for a range of around 330 miles on one charge, so you can imagine it chews through its electrons quicker than virtually any other EV on the market.

GM Authority reached out to General Motors for a statement regarding the ACEEE study and the automaker actually replied through an unnamed spokesperson that

The study ignores the real-world importance and benefit of bringing to market performance- oriented EVs like the GMC Hummer EV. Seventy five percent of the tens of thousands of customers who’ve reserved a Hummer EV have never owned an EV – many are or were pickup owners. The GMC Hummer EV (and other performance-oriented EVs) are accomplishing more in bringing EV skeptics into the EV fold than any of these half-glass-empty criticisms ever will.

As a reminder, the study found the GMC Hummer EV was responsible for 341 grams of CO2 per mile, which is more than a gas-burning sedan like the Chevrolet Malibu with 320 grams per mile. Sure, if you ran the Hummer on cleaner energy than what the US is able to produce (around 60 percent of all electricity generated in the US burns fuel), then sure, it would be a greener proposition.

The GM spokesperson mentioned that the majority of people who put their name down for a Hummer EV knew what they were getting. It’s just as excessive and unnecessary as any previous Hummer, only this one guzzles electrons, not fuel.