Want a 2021 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1? Get in line.

The all-electric pickup sold out in 10 minutes despite its price tag that tops $100,000, just as the automaker is preparing to start winter testing of it, said Duncan Aldred, GMC vice president.

Aldred declined to say how many Edition 1's have been ordered, but said, "It is a highly sought-after vehicle. The customers want the vehicle just as soon as possible. Of the people who reserved another Hummer EV vehicle, about half of them said if a first edition becomes available, we'd like that vehicle."

The Hummer EV is now at GM's proving grounds in Milford, Mich., to undergo testing and further evaluation and soon GM engineers will take the prototypes to northern Michigan to perform winter endurance testing, Aldred said.

GMC revealed the pickup in October and Aldred said it was the most-watched reveal ever with 370 million views, double that of what GMC has recorded from Super Bowl ads. It beat the reveals of the Tesla Cybertruck and the Ford Bronco SUV, F-150 pickup and Mustang Mach E.

“It was pretty exceptional in what we delivered in terms of impressions and views and what we brought to our website,” Aldred said.

Dealerships taking orders

GM developed the 2022 GMC Hummer electric pickup at a lightning pace, headed by engineers who created the 2020 Corvette.

Edition 1, which is due out late next year, has a starting price of $112,595. It will be built at GM's Factory ZERO in Detroit and Hamtramck, which is being retooled now to assemble a series of all-electric vehicles.

The pickup can go from 0 to 60 mph in about 3 seconds and it has new technology such as the "crab walk," which allows the wheels to turn diagonally to get you out of tight spots, as well as hands-free driving and the fastest charging system on the market.

After Edition 1, GM will launch a 3X model priced at $99,995 next fall. The 2X model at $89,995 goes on sale in spring 2023 and the $79,995 EV2 arrives in spring 2024.

Some dealerships are already seeing orders for the Hummer. At Mark Wahlberg Buick GMC in Columbus, Ohio, several orders have been placed, said Jay Feldman, co-owner of the store. Also, the store is now officially a Hummer dealer, he said.

"We signed the agreement that we’ll have phase 3 power in the building, which we already have and the correct charging equipment," Feldman said. "Also, we’ll buy all the tools we have to buy for that model."

Three-phase electric power means there are three alternating currents or three electric services.

No Cadillac model

GMC dealers will be asked to sign a “participation agreement” to sell the Hummer EV and it is optional for dealers, Aldred said.

That means GMC will not offer buyouts to those GMC dealers who decline to sell the vehicle, the way Cadillac is offering buyouts to dealers who do not want to invest about $200,000 to transition their operations to sell electric vehicles.

The cost for GMC dealers to sell the Hummer EV will depend on the kind of electric source already in place at a dealership. It requires Phase 3 power to facilitate the fast charge so it needs an AC and a DC charger and that’s probably the biggest expense, Aldred said.

"So for some it could be very inexpensive, if you’ve already got the power source to facilitate the kind of charging points we need," Aldred said. If you don’t, it could cost “quite significantly more. What we’re saying to dealers, before they sign up, is to get an assessment of what would need to be done in their dealership."

The cost will mainly be to allow the dealership to have the various tooling and training to sell and service it, “But we will not be going down a similar strategy as Cadillac.”

GMC Hummer SUV

GM also will offer a GMC Hummer electric SUV in a couple of years. The automaker slyly revealed the 2023 GMC Hummer SUV during Barclays Global Automotive Conference late last month.

GM's presentation to Barclays was done virtually from GM's Design Dome at the company's Global Technical Center in Warren. CEO Mary Barra and Doug Parks, executive vice president of global product development, purchasing and supply chain, sat right next to the yet-to-be-revealed 2023 GMC Hummer SUV during the presentation.

Hummer enthusiasts noticed it and posted a screen grab on HummerChat.com, which then sent the image around where various media outlets picked it up.