The auto show, expected after two years of lockdowns to drive off into an irrelevant sunset, isn’t dead yet.
Thousands have placed orders for such new cars, sight unseen, and resigned themselves, as in the case with General Motors’ Hummer EV, for yearslong waits. This week, they’ll at least be able to kick the tires. General Motors Inc, in turn, will showcase the electric version of its Chevrolet Silverado EV, a rig first unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. It’s not due out until 2023, so expect GM to pull out all the stops to pique interest among the e-truck crowd in order to slow the momentum of Ford’s electric pickup.
The company aims to sell 1.7 million electric vehicles in 2026, so the bet is that whatever is under the cover, it will be powered by a big lithium-ion battery. “We are now transitioning from the halo EV cars to more mass-produced EVs, which can be afforded by anybody,” says Jesse Toprak, the chief analyst for Autonomy, an EV-subscription service.