Holden Ute may return as an electric vehicle by 2024

The plug-in dumper is being switched on by GM after it loses its partnership with vehicle manufacturer Rivian.

General Motors has confirmed that it will be selling an electric car from 2024 that will compete with Tesla, electric car startup Rivian and the electric cars that Ford is planning.

Ute has huge uses and market appeal in the genre's home market in Australia and could be a Holden Ute revived.

GM president and former Holden managing director Mark Reuss said last week in New York that the ute will be one of a number of electric vehicles ready to be shown in GM showrooms from 2023.

His comments followed those of GM CEO Mary Barra, who said in May that her electric vehicle program would include a truck.

Ute is GM's answer to the booming activity of Ford and fledgling electric vehicle maker Rivian.

It also follows Tesla boss Elon Musk's claims that he was planning a ute that "would be a better truck than the F-150 in terms of truck functionality" and "would be a better sports car than the standard 911."

GM talks with Rivian, which is poised to launch its R1T ute by 2021, fell through in February of this year and opened the door for Ford, which immediately invested US$500 million (AU$715 million) into the launch.

Ford has separately announced the development of an electric F-150 ute crossover and an electric car based on the Mustang.

Now, GM president Reuss said at a New York City transportation conference last week that the electric vehicle series will be launched based on an advanced Autonomy platform that can simply be attached to a variety of body styles. show.

Holden Ute may return as an electric vehicle by 2024 Ford has announced that an electric F-150 is in development.

Incidentally, Rivian uses a similar skateboard platform that houses the drivetrain and batteries separately from the body.

Reuss said the BEV3 EV platform will first appear in a new Cadillac SUV in 2023.

In a report released by WardsAuto last week, Mr. Reuss said: “We can build everything on this (platform) with just three drives: front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive or electronic all-wheel drive. This architecture is the canvas on which we will paint a profitable electric vehicle program.”

The platform is also flexible for right-hand drive and left-hand drive layouts without the redesign required for conventional monocoque or ladder frame vehicles.

Reuss said the cost of producing electric vehicles will reach parity with internal combustion vehicles sooner than many expect.

“We will reach parity much sooner than people think,” he said in a WardAuto report.

“Compliance with internal combustion engines will become expensive. All of this and more will lead to greater consumer adoption of electric vehicles. Besides, they will be great cars.”

Reuss previously said at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2019 that Cadillac will be the leading brand for GM's electric vehicles.

Using Cadillac's premium brand as an EV flagship will allow GM to charge more for its electric models, realizing a faster path to profiting from expensive development costs.

However, the logic is not entirely consistent with the fact that GM produces a car under the Cadillac brand, and it can be sold as GMC or Chevrolet.

The BEV3 platform is not the only electrical architecture being developed by GM. The company has announced that it will release an SUV based on the Chevrolet Bolt using the more conventional BEV2 platform.

Rivian is expected to release its double cockpit R1T, which claims a range of 640 km, in 2021. The Ford F-150 EV, which, unlike the purpose-built Rivian, uses a modified F-150 body, is expected to arrive in late 2020.

Holden said Mr. Reuss' statement was from a time period too distant to comment on.