Overlanding, the practice of traveling across remote areas, often for weeks or even months at a time, is growing in popularity, and the wave of electric pickups and SUVs arriving on the market offer new opportunities for the overlanding community.
GMC is out to explore the possibilities with a concept based on its Hummer EV Pickup. Set to be unveiled in late summer, the concept has been previewed in a teaser shot that shows what appears to be a canopy over the electric truck’s bed, above which sits solar panels that extend to the roof of the truck.
It’s likely the rear canopy houses a bed rack with fixtures designed to store various equipment. GMC already previewed a similar design with its Canyon AT4 OVRLANDX concept from 2021. The automaker also presented a Hummer EV Pickup with overlanding goodies during that year’s SEMA show.
GMC teamed up with EarthCruiser Overland Vehicles to develop the latest concept. The Australian company is an expert at building vehicles of all sorts designed to handle extended stays on rough terrain, and has been represented in the U.S. with a division in Bend, Oregon, since 2013.
2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1
One of the goals of the project was to gather ideas for an overland upfit solution developed specifically for electric vehicles. One of the major opportunities provided by EVs in the overlanding space, according to EarthCruiser CEO and founder Lance Gillies, is precise torque control capable of making navigating tricky terrain easier. Naturally, the vehicle’s battery also provides storage for energy to power devices, which is handy.
The Hummer EV Pickup’s biggest battery is a 200-kwh unit. It’s good for 329 miles in combination with the vehicle’s 1,000-hp EV3X powertrain.
