Tesla, Ford, and Rivian race to be the first to market with an all-electric pickup truck, there may be one player in the game that reportedly did it before the rest. General Motors (GM) launched a fully-electric pickup truck back in 1997 with the Chevy S10 EV.
The Chevy S10 EV was primarily targeted as a fleet vehicle, with only 1,100 units produced at the time, GM Authority reported. The electric truck project, which was based off a two-door, short-bed Chevy S10 work truck, was pulled by GM a year later, the news outlet said.
The power pack of the electric pickup truck included an 85 kW AC induction motor powered by a 16.2 kWh battery pack that was situated under the bed and between the frame rails, weighing in at a reported 1,400 pounds. The truck’s driving range was 38.8 miles at 60 mph and 60.4 miles at 45 mph.
Back in 2012, Tom Convey, a former GM engineer, reminisced about the electric pickup truck saying, “The smooth, quick acceleration was like taking off in a light aircraft. The sound of the gear whine reminded me of a turbine engine. If GM made a vehicle like that again, I’d buy it in a minute! I miss that truck!”
The cost of the truck was a reported $33,305.
