First Look: GMC Electric Sierra Teased, Shares Platform with Hummer EV

• The upcoming electric Sierra is based on the larger-than-life Hummer EV.
• Compared to the Hummer, the electric Sierra will be a more traditional pickup truck.
• GMC says the electric Sierra will debut in Denali trim and be fully unveiled next year.

With the market for electric vehicles heating up, it's a great time for new EVs to be announced. Thanks to Rivian, the world is hungry for electric truck news, too, and GMC has obliged with the partial unveiling of the electric GMC Sierra, to be followed by a full reveal sometime in 2022. Here's everything we know so far.

What to expect from the electric GMC Sierra

GMC announced the electric Sierra via a short video showing off its lighting sequence — basically, the cool way the headlights come on. That's pretty much all we know about how the vehicle will look, other than the fact that it will debut in Denali trim with an array of presumably premium styling flourishes.

But the video starts out with a front-end shot of the GMC Hummer EV pickup, which is no accident. The Hummer and the upcoming electric Sierra will share the same Ultium platform, which is good news for the upcoming Sierra because it means this won't be a retrofit of an existing product. The electric Sierra will be a purpose-built EV from the ground up.

Based on the specs for the Hummer EV truck and SUV, we expect the electric Sierra's performance to be mind-blowing. The tri-motor Hummer EV, after all, makes 1,000 horsepower and can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in the 3-second range. While GM may be reluctant to let the electric Sierra run neck-and-neck with the more premium Hummers, we're guessing the Sierra won't be too far behind. Expect at least 550 horsepower or so to rival the Ford F-150 Lightning.

What else do we know?

Aside from the shared Hummer EV platform, little else is confirmed for the electric Sierra. We assume that Super Cruise will be offered, as well as the four-wheel steering teased on its sibling, the electric Chevrolet Silverado. Will it come with the same fixed glass roof as the Silverado? Probably, but time will tell.

Oh, and what about range? Based on the Hummer EV's specs, the electric Sierra could achieve up to 350 to 400 miles of maximum real-world range between full charges, but that's purely theoretical for now. The Rivian R1T is already on the scoreboard with 317 miles of real-world range in Edmunds' testing. Your move, GM.

Edmunds says

The EV pickup segment will soon have more than a single member, and GMC is making some promising opening moves. On the other hand, Rivian got a serious head start by bringing out the R1T this year. We look forward to seeing how the all-electric Sierra stacks up once we can get behind the wheel.