--- title: "Electric Trucks Haven’t Sold Like GM Hoped. Its Vehicle Boss Says They Still Make Sense" date: "2026-10-22" modified: "2026-10-22" authors: - name: "Joel Feder" job_title: "Director of Content and Product" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/joel-feder.md" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/electric-trucks-havent-sold-like-gm-hoped-its-vehicle-boss-says-they-still-make-sense" categories: - "GM News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "pickup" --- # Electric Trucks Haven’t Sold Like GM Hoped. Its Vehicle Boss Says They Still Make Sense ![2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss]() *\Joel Feder\* General Motors' executive team was crystal clear on Wednesday in New York while laying out the automaker's future: the end game is EVs and the future is electric. Today, that [struggles to align with electric truck sales](). On the [latest episode of *The Drivecast*](), Senior Vice President of Vehicle Products at General Motors Jaclyn McQuaid told *The Drive*, "I think there is a huge application for electrification in the truck space, huge application in the truck space." The statement was in response to the question of what she would tell someone who's scared of electric trucks and nervous about the future feeling like someone can pry their diesel-powered HD from their cold, dead hands. Listen below to the moment McQuaid addresses the topic and the future of electric trucks. McQuaid is no stranger to trucks. Her career includes working on subsystems for GM's trucks, including but not limited to exhaust, tires, wheels, brakes, and even seats, all before becoming the first chief engineer for the automaker's heavy-duty trucks. She launched the heavy-duty pickup GM called T1. She's lived with one, too. McQuaid said she spent a year driving a Silverado EV, and called the range of GM's current electric trucks "incredibly impressive." According to McQuaid, a big part of the case is "Off-board power that it can provide, running a job site, running your home." The executive qualified the future by noting, "We’re continuing to make advancements in battery technology, in energy density, in range, in cost. With that increase in range and performance comes increase in towing." And continued by saying, "I think the infrastructure is going to continue to develop as we continue to develop, but I do not see those two things as mutually exclusive, the truck space and electrification." In terms of EVs and trucks McQuaid said, "I actually see them working together really well, and what you have to remember about General Motors is we know trucks." "Whether it’s propelled by a diesel or a gas engine or whether it’s propelled by an electronic propulsion in battery, we know trucks, and we’re going to continue to develop the EV technology, but I see great application for it in the truck space," McQuaid said. GM's next wave of trucks will get the [automaker's new central computer](), and full-size pickups are next in line for its [eyes-off highway driving system]() after the [2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ](). No timeline has been given for when GM's next-gen EV tech, including LMR batteries, will reach its electric trucks. *Got a story? Send us a line at tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Overseeing what you see, read, touch, hear, and interact with from the vast lakes of Minnesota, Joel Feder shapes how The Drive looks and operates as the head of content and product initiatives. On a daily basis, Joel leads the newsroom and editorial staff playing point on both short-term coverage and long-term strategic plans. His mission is to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media by helping the team execute original reporting, breaking news, and exclusive opportunities. Regarded as an industry insider and recognized by colleagues, fellow journalists, and manufacturers as a point-person and leader in the industry, Joel owns and runs the largest automotive professionals group on Facebook in an effort to serve and help others. Joel serves as a juror for the World Car Awards. In addition, he sits on the Board of Directors for Move Forward MN, a local non-profit that helps at-risk youth with barrier-free mental health and housing services. While you’re reading this he’s either on his computer or iPhone chasing the latest news or drafting a story. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Bluesky]() [Email]() ## More - [GM’s Future Silverados Should Need Fewer Dealership Visits. One Computer Is the Key]() - [Taking the Car Keys From Aging Parents Is Brutal. GM Wants Self-Driving Cars to Change That]() - [GM Won’t Rule Out Cadillacs Without Steering Wheels. The Blackwing Is Another Story]() - [GM Says Electric Pickup Trucks Are Still Decades Away]() - [Honda CEO Says Going It Alone on Car Software “Doesn’t Make Sense”]() - [GM Is Building New V8s, EVs, and Self-Driving Cars at Once. Its Vehicle Boss Told Us How]() - [GM Says It’ll Have 30 Electric Vehicles by 2025 in ‘All-Out Pursuit of Global EV Leadership’]() - [Bentley U.S. Boss: ‘Haven’t Had a Customer’ Say They Need a Self-Driving Bentley]()