What’s going on with the GM EV programs? Apparently, it is a lot harder for the General to produce electrified vehicles than Tesla or Ford. This, despite its pronouncements to the contrary. Ford F-150 Lightning sales are up over 100% for Q2 2023. But it could only eke out 47 GMC Hummer EVs, while Chevrolet announced it is pushing back 2023 Blazer SS production to 2024. 

This news is casting a pall over GM’s plans to out Tesla in the EV market. Granted, it has enough firepower to make that happen someday. But, especially looking at the GMC Hummer’s year-and-a-half production period, it should be doing incredibly better than selling 15 a month. 

What does GM say is the GMC Hummer EV issue?

Ford says it is on track to sell over 150,000 F-150 Lightning pickups in 2023. But that is being challenged by how many have actually sold. So far, 2023 sales have amounted to 4,200. That makes its 119% sales increase look much worse than at first glance. 

Back to the GMC Hummer, sales were down 83% from the same period in 2022. Since production began seven quarters ago, it has sold a grand total of 900 GMC Hummer trucks. It says it has issues with supply shortages, specifically battery challenges. 

“What’s held us off right now is getting our battery plants running. Getting the cells ramped up is constraining our Ultium platform,” Barra said. “It’s all new manufacturing, and we’re working with different suppliers.” 

Why is Blazer SS EV production pushed to 2024?

GM makes batteries in Warren, Ohio. Other plants are being readied for production to begin in Tennessee, Michigan, and later in Indiana. However, batteries haven’t stopped Tesla, Ford, and Rivian from seeing stronger sales. All of this is taking time. But you can see that once it begins hitting on all cylinders, or should we say cells, the production of EVs will definitely increase. 

As for the much-anticipated Chevrolet Blazer EV, deliveries of the SS version were to begin later this year. Now Chevrolet says production won’t begin until 2024. So here again, something isn’t quite right under the GM EV umbrella. It does say that production of the bread-and-butter version of the Blazer EV is still slated for this summer; summer is here. 

Is GM making any Chevrolet Blazers yet?

Production of the Blazer EV only started on June 29, 2023, at Chevrolet’s Ramos Arizpe assembly plant in Mexico. Depending on how long it will take for production numbers to ramp up is in question, based on how GMC Hummer production is going. If production scales up reasonably soon, then it is only a matter of building up supplies before Blazer RS EVs begin showing up on dealers’ lots. 

At the Aspen Ideas Festival, the same day the first Blazer rolled off the line, GM CEO Mary Barra made some big announcements. She said GM expects plug-in production to hit 400,000 by the end of this year and over a million by 2025. But that’s for plug-ins, not fully electric versions. 

So EV production is taking much longer than GM planned and expected. However, it is much better situated than Stellantis, which won’t see any EV deliveries begin until 2025. But that’s another story…