Full-size pickup trucks and the Detroit manufacturers are a marriage made in heaven, and the latter have maintained a hold on the American market for decades. Gladly so, as the margins and bottom lines that come with full-size trucks are huge relative to mainstream sedans.
Sales of traditional-size trucks kept the lights on through dark times, but the question has been, “How practical are trucks as electric vehicles?” Let’s take a closer look at the challenges confronting trucks, and one breakthrough automaker General Motors (GM 0.50%) had recently that could significantly reduce costs.
Then vs. now
Here’s the secret to Detroit’s bread-and-butter full-size trucks: They don’t take all that much more to build than sedans, and the cost to consumers can be 4x more. But this gravy train may be coming to an end, because things change when you get into the electric truck.
For a full-size electric truck to be able to tow loads, it would have to feature a robust battery — those are heavy and costly. Those days are over when you could produce a full-size electric truck for slightly more money than a sedan, mostly due to the enormous battery prices.
Don’t believe me. The old boss of Lucid, Peter Rawlinson, said it’s “very difficult to make an electric pickup make sense today.” That’s clearly one reason you won’t see luxury sedans and SUVs only in Lucid’s product pipeline and lineup.
The good news: Battery prices are decreasing, and General Motors has recently made a splash in battery chemistry.
Ten years in the making
General Motors this week said it created a new battery cell with joint venture partner LG Energy Solution — GM began researching the new battery cells in 2015. The advantage is the new battery, lithium manganese-rich (LMR), will reduce cost on its EVs without sacrificing range.
“. It’s a revolutionary battery for electric trucks,” GM Vice President of battery, propulsion and sustainability Kurt Kelty told reporters, as quoted by Automotive News. “We think we can get more than 400 miles of range in a single charge in a truck, while materially lowering our battery cost.”
A quick review: GM sped up its LMR cell innovation in 2020, spent $85 million on manganese producer Element 25 in 2023, and as of 2025 have run the cells in R&D facilities to equivalent of 1.5 million EV miles of driving.
What it all means
General Motors’ new battery chemistry is essentially a demonstration of how it will all be from here on out. No more than one engine size can be applied to all gasoline-powered cars, and neither can one battery chemistry or size be applied to all EVs. To balance performance and prices, manufacturers are going to have to play with various chemistry and sizes, and other factors, and a good thing GM’s venture partnership is actually progressing — this battery should be available in 2028.
Maybe more importantly, this is a small bit of good news that over time could propel the profitability and margins for EV trucks just as we’re accustomed to for gasoline counterparts — and that’s gigantic for investors. It’s also crucial to reduce prices to make the consumers’ doors open. Detroit automakers need full-size trucks to remain as bread-and-butter products moving monster margins.
Finally, GM’s future battery, and JV with LG Energy Solution, is just another astute move GM has made.
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