Marc Urbano|Car and Driver
- GM is shutting down production shifts at its Detroit-Hamtramck EV factory for September and into early October.
- The reason is cited as aligning with market demand for the company’s EV trucks.
- The factory previously reduced production in April of this year.
In a move a company spokesperson says is intended to temporarily affect production, GM is shutting down production at its Detroit-Hamtramck EV factory. Beginning the day after Labor Day, and ending October 6, both first and second shifts will be shut down.JEFF KOWALSKY|Getty ImagesAccording to a statement emailed to the Detroit Free Press, the move is intended to make “temporary adjustments to production to align to market dynamics.” The vehicles affected are the GMC Hummer EV and the Cadillac Escalade IQ.This shutdown follows on the heels of a similar move in April, where 200 jobs were temporarily cut due to low market demand. In that case, GM also included the EV versions of the Sierra and Silverado pickup trucks. Essentially, it looks like consumer demand for big EV trucks is softer than projected. A Hummer EV or the full-size electric Escalade are both niche products built to impress, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the sales numbers aren’t huge. Still, while GM moves seven times as many regular Escalades each month than it does the EV version, sales of the IQ are at least fairly steady, about 600 per month for the first half of the year.It’s perhaps a bigger issue that the Sierra and Silverado EVs combined sales are about the same as that of the Hummer EV. The Ford Lightning EV pickup sells far better, but it has not been without its stumbles. With GM’s volume-selling EVs, the Equinox and Blazer, both being built in Mexico, executives must surely be looking at the excess production supply in Detroit, and perhaps reconsidering past strategies.GMCGMC Hummer EV SUV.The shift shutdown is expected to impact 360 workers at present; the factory employs a total of 4000 people. It’s not great news to receive on the runup to the holiday weekend that celebrates the American labor movement. Brendan McAleerContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: caranddriver.com
