GMC to Relaunch Hummer as Electric Vehicle

America's General Motors, or GM, is bringing back its Hummer truck. The new truck will different from earlier versions of the Hummer. This time, it will be fully¹ electric.

The automaker announced last week it plans to begin selling the battery-powered vehicle, called the Hummer EV, in September of 2021.

The new Hummer appeared in a television advertisement during the Super Bowl game last Sunday. However, only a small part of the front of the truck was shown. The ad attempted to show the contrasting nature of the vehicle: That it is a large, powerful truck, yet operates in complete silence.

GM says it will introduce the truck to the public on May 20. So far, the company has provided few details about it.

The Hummer EV's battery will give the truck about 1,000 horsepower, GM said on its website. The vehicle can go from 0 to 97 kilometers per hour in three seconds. The automaker did not name a selling price or say how far the truck can go on a single battery charge.

A GM spokeswoman told The Associated Press the new truck will have some design elements similar to the old one, but will not look like the Hummer of the past.

The first Hummer, launched in the 1990s, was modeled after the Humvee vehicle used by United States military forces. The vehicle became popular in the early 2000s with lovers of large trucks and sport utility vehicles, or SUVs. Many Americans liked its off-road abilities.

But GM dropped the Hummer in 2010 after experiencing financial difficulties. Sales suffered big drops after fuel prices rose in the summer of 2008. Environmental groups criticized the non-fuel efficient vehicles for wasting energy resources.

GM said the new Hummer would be built at a factory in Detroit that was set to close. The company said it was investing $2.2 billion to modernize² the Detroit-area plant to produce new electric trucks and SUVs.

Several other carmakers – including Ford³ and Tesla – are also planning to launch battery-powered trucks and SUVs in the future.

Words in This Story

battery – n. an object that provides electricity for things

contrast – v. a clear difference between two things

horsepower – n. a unit for measuring the power of an engine

sport utility vehicle – n. a larger vehicle designed to transport cargo⁴ and people and sometimes built to travel over rough roads

efficient – adj. not wasting time or energy

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

3 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

4 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。