US Army Orders Hummer EV For Evaluation

Jul. 20, 2022 3:24 PM ET by Gerhard Horn Government / 10 Comments

The troops are going environmentally friendly.

Hummer has finally come full circle. GM Defense has been selected by the US Army to provide a battery electric vehicle for analysis and demonstration.

The original High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) became quite famous thanks to the rise of the 24-hour news coverage cycle. Arnold Schwarzenegger famously saw the Humvee transport troops during the Gulf War and lobbied for a civilian version, and he eventually became the first customer to buy one. The Humvee was ultimately retired because it did not provide adequate protection against IEDs.

Now the US Army potentially wants Hummer back on its fleet, though it's not clear on what it wants the vehicle to do.

News about an eLRV or electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle came to light in November 2021. According to GM Defense, the Army was excited about the electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle. Now the Army has acted as a result of that excitement, selecting GM Defence to provide a demonstrator.

"This award showcases GM Defense's ability to leverage the best battery-electric technology in the commercial marketplace," said Steve duMont, president of GM Defense. "With access to GM's advanced technologies, GM Defense is able to provide proven commercial technologies adapted to meet specific defense requirements and the needs of our customers."

GM Defense will use the new Hummer EV platform and GM's Ultium battery technology as a basis for this new vehicle.

This demonstration will prove to our US Army customer what an all-electric super truck can do.

"Leveraging GM's advanced technology, this demonstration will prove to our US Army customer what an all-electric super truck can do and how the underlying technology can be leveraged for future defense needs, whether on an installation or in a tactical environment," said duMont.

The Department of Defense is the latest government agency to join the electric movement. The federal government is on a mission to go fully EV by 2035, while local government has started purchasing fleets of EVs for police duty.

So far, the only holdout is the US Postal Service, which is currently being sued by 16 states and several environmental organizations for spending $11 billion on traditional delivery vehicles because the EV alternative did not meet its requirements.

US Army Orders Hummer EV For Evaluation

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