General Engines have their finger in each pie with a wheel on it. So these are economical vehicles, luxury brands and even defense contracts. GM Defense returned to the market in 2017. Initially, the company modified its utility vehicles for military purposes. Last year, the ISV, Infantry squad vehicle spear. The small vehicle meets the army’s need to be more mobile on the battlefield.
When GM opened this new division, they built a new plant in Concord, North Carolina. However, not everything the division needs is here. The automaker’s proving grounds are in Michigan and have 140 miles of roads to test vehicles. Earlier in January, near this facility, GM Authority photographers took pictures of a large military vehicle sitting in the back of a tray. With Chevrolet, Buick and Opel all safe in their respective markets, GM Defense is a logical place for the brand to look to expand its offerings. Even more so given the number of vehicles the military owns and their need to soon adopt green energy sources.
The manufacturing giant must consider developing GM Defense.
What military vehicle was there?
The 12-wheeled monolith received positive identification as Rheinmetall Defense military truck, a German manufacturer of military products ranging from troop carriers to mortars. The model spotted is an HX truck equipped with an indirect fire weapon system. It is essentially artillery.
The vehicle is a Rheinmetall Man military vehicle. Beneath the rugged exterior is the basis for the Man TG series of civilian trucks. Rheinmetall proceeds to modify the vehicle for extreme off-road use with the addition of additional wheels and stronger bumpers. The current generation of HX-3 has the option of 4×4, 6×6, 8×8 and 10×10.
What does GM do with a military vehicle?
So far, GM Defense has focused on smaller military vehicles. The ISV, modified Colorado and Silverado act as troop and small equipment transports. The manufacturer also offers a small range of autonomous vehicles, the SURUS, Silent Utility Rover Universal Super Structure. The second in this range is the unmanned underwater vehicle. Part of the Surus’ selling point is its stealth operation capabilities due to its hydrogen fuel cell. This same technology powers the military application of the Silverado.
It is common for manufacturers to acquire competition cars to learn from them. Engineers will disassemble a competing model to find out more. In some cases, as with the De Tomaso Pantera and Carroll Shelby, competitors’ models act as test mules for different engines. Given this, it makes sense that GM Defense is looking to upgrade its hydrogen fuel cell to power large military vehicles. After all, there is a void in this market and Tesla trucks will not fill that void. Additionally, the US military is moving towards durable vehicles, with General Motors looking to develop a lightweight electric reconnaissance vehicle with the Hummer EV.
There isn’t a heady truck company under the General Motors umbrella. GMC once built heavy-duty vehicles and buses, now focusing only on SUVs and pickup trucks. So, for the Fortune 500 company to enter this market, it must learn directly from the competition, not from its internal experts.
Read more
About the Author
Comments are closed.