GM finally confirms future electric pickup truck

How quickly the tides have changed. Not long after its primary competitor decided to put half a billion dollars behind a very impressive future EV truck manufacturer, GM has finally confirmed that it has electrification on its roadmap.

As part of GM's first-quarter financial results conference call, CEO Mary Barra confirmed that General Motors will introduce an all-electric pickup truck. Sadly, that's about all Barra had to say on the topic, as the confirmation was part of a broader (and rather brief) discussion on expanding its electrification efforts. So, we don't have any details just yet.

The last we heard from GM on this topic was in January, when a report cited a GMC executive saying the automaker was "considering" an electrified pickup or SUV. This electric truck will join a growing party of electrified GM vehicles, including a reinvigorated Cadillac that wants to be the lead EV builder in the greater General Motors empire, as well as a new Chevrolet model that will rely on the Bolt EV's platform.

Other mass-market automakers have announced similar plans or have already started electrifying their larger vehicles. Ram has a mild-hybrid variant of the 1500 pickup on offer, and Ford has promised both hybrid and EV variants of the F-Series pickup, in addition to whatever Ford does with Rivian's platform.

Speaking of Rivian, the work to electrify pickup trucks has the attention of smaller companies, too. Rivian came out of stealth with the R1T electric truck, packing a unique style, loads of interior tech and a seemingly fully baked business model. Atlis Motor Vehicles claims it's working on an EV pickup truck with 500 miles of range and 35,000 pounds of towing capacity. Workhorse's W-15 uses an onboard gas engine to generate electricity for its battery. It's going to be a busy few years as we see which of these companies have the determination to actually bring their products to market as the big boys start gearing up their own electrified trucks.