GM plans to rely heavily on customer feedback as it designs and engineers affordable EVs, Pevovar said. The baby pickup is an example of one type of vehicle GM is considering for an affordable EV lineup.
“The input may come back that it’s just too small, and that’s OK,” he said. “Maybe [it won’t be] right for what this architecture can provide, but does it have legs for different architecture where it might need to be a little bigger?”
If the pickup comes to market, it could rival the four-door, gasoline-powered Maverick and Santa Cruz, but it would have no direct two-door pickup competitor.
Other brands have found success with four-door mini pickups. Ford sold 74,370 Mavericks in the U.S. last year, and Hyundai sold 36,480 Santa Cruz models, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center.
The North America market tends to favor four doors and a backseat for cargo and passengers. A two-seat pickup without a full bed would likely fare better in South America or Mexico, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. The two-door baby pickup GM showed could be a variation of the Chevrolet Montana or the Colorado S10, both sold in Brazil, he said.
GM is targeting high-volume EVs as it expands its lineup, Pevovar said, but CEO Mary Barra has said the automaker aims to build an EV for every car buyer.
“What they don’t have in volume, they make up for in a lower price,” Pevovar said. “That draws people in.”
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