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Ford Names Croley Chief Policy Officer
While Ford has the F-150 Lightning and Tesla has the Cybertruck, General Motors is taking a multipronged approach in its electric pickup truck strategy.
As revealed by GM on July 19, it will be offering at least three large all-electric pickup trucks in the future.
The third yet-to-be-announced pickup would join the GMC Hummer EV and the electric Chevy Silverado as part of the company’s electric vehicle lineup. The Hummer EV was announced last October and is expected to start deliveries later this year. The electric Silverado was confirmed in April.
GM’s third full-size all-electric pickup truck is part of the veteran automaker’s $27 billion investment in electric vehicles and self-driving cars, designed to help the company release 30 EVs globally by 2025. GM expects to sell at least 1 million electric vehicles per year worldwide by 2025, and it expects to transition into an all-electric automaker by 2035.
During a digital media event, GMC global head Duncan Aldred noted he is confident of GMC’s chances. He also stated the new pickup truck is “pretty advanced” in its planning.
The name of the upcoming all-electric pickup has not been disclosed yet, though the statements from the GMC executive suggest that the vehicle may potentially be an electric version of the Sierra pickup. A covered render of the vehicle featured in the digital media event hints at a traditional pickup design as well.
The all-electric pickup truck market is still unproven, but vehicles that have been announced for the segment have attracted a significant amount of interest.
Unofficial order trackers for the Tesla Cybertruck hint at more than 1 million reservations for the vehicle. Ford also recently confirmed it had received more than 100,000 reservations for the F-150 Lightning. Granted, Tes-
la and Ford’s reservations for the Cybertruck and Lightning are only worth $100 each, but they suggest public interest in electric trucks is present and substantial.
Aldred believes GM’s third all-electric pickup will be successful in the market.
“Do we feel confident about our ability to win in that environment? Absolutely, we do. I think we’re already showing our excellence in terms of electrification; we’ve done that through Hummer EV,” he said. *Quotes courtesy of CNBC.
Ford has selected former U.S. federal lawyer Steven Croley to become its chief policy officer and general counsel. Croley, 55, who joined Ford on July 12, will help the company further leverage and build on its strengths in government relations, sustainability, safety, legal and privacy. The new policy leadership role was anticipated last October when Jim Farley became CEO and announced organizational changes to help the company fulfill its customer-first Ford+ plan for growth and value creation. Croley will report to Farley and work closely with Jon Huntsman, a member of the Ford board of directors who in April was appointed vice chair, policy, an internal senior advisory role to Farley and Executive Chair Bill Ford.
John Mellen, who postponed his planned retirement from Ford a year ago to take on the role of general counsel, will conclude his exceptional career with the company Sept. 1, following transition of his legal responsibilities to Croley.
Source: Ford
