The next generation of full-size GM pickups and SUVs will be almost entirely free of hybrid models, according to GM Inside News. Scheduled to launch less than a year from now, the new lineup was originally slated to utilize an updated version of the current two-mode system. Now, it appears the next-generation Cadillac Escalade may be the only full-size ute to be hybridized.
GM wouldn’t comment on its hybrid full-size picks and SUVs coming to an end, only saying that the real-world benefits and financial viability of their entire portfolio of global and regional vehicle programs are periodically reviewed. As a result, “some technologies are pulled ahead, delayed, or cancelled. This is a normal course of business.”
- Short Take Road Test: 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
- First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Hybrid
- Short Take Road Test: 2011 Ford F-150 FX4 SuperCrew 4×4 EcoBoost V6
Other sources inside GM have told C/D that the program for the next-gen full-size truck and SUV lineup—including the Tahoe and Yukon SUVs and Silverado and Sierra pickups—is focusing on evolutionary development in chassis refinement, driving dynamics, interior appointments, and comfort, rather than hybridized powertrains.