- GM could soon sell rebadged electric commercial vehicles made by Hyundai.
- At the same time, Hyundai could rebadge a GM-made electric pickup.
General Motors’ current offering of all-electric commercial vehicles is quite slim. It includes the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup and the Chevrolet BrightDrop van, but that’s about it. However, that might change soon with a little help from Hyundai.
The South Korean carmaker said it’s in talks with GM to supply electric commercial vehicles stateside, with a deal expected to be inked within the first quarter of this year. "We are considering re-badging our commercial EVs and supplying GM,” said Hyundai Chief Financial Officer Lee Seung Jo on an analyst call, quoted by Reuters. “The deal will pave the way for our entry into the North American commercial vehicle market.”
Except for a small experimental fleet of hydrogen-powered Class 8 trucks in California, Hyundai doesn’t sell commercial vehicles such as vans, pickups and trucks in the U.S.—aside from the compact Santa Cruz, which doesn't quite count in this context.
According to Reuters, there are several reasons for this move, including Hyundai expecting sales growth to halve this year due to softening demand and the potential policy headwinds. "We expect more business uncertainties this year than ever before due to potential policy changes not just in the home market but also in the U.S., while there will be tougher emission rules in Europe," Lee said.
Hyundai and General Motors signed a memorandum of understanding last year to explore collaboration opportunities, including co-developing future electric, hydrogen and internal combustion vehicles. The deal was non-binding, but both companies said they would look into signing binding agreements for things like sourcing battery raw materials and steel, as well as combining forces to potentially bring cheaper EVs to the market.
Late last year, the Korean business newspaper Pulse reported that Hyundai could stick its badge onto a GM-made electric pickup, in what seems to be a bilateral badge-engineering exercise.
