General Motors planning a small electric pick-up

A small electric pick-up – even smaller than the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz – could be moving towards a production future at General Motors in the US.

A clay model of the sporty, two-door baby pick-up was revealed alongside a number of other designs in a media briefing at GM's 'affordable EV design studio' in Detroit as the company looks for feedback on its plan.

It is a two-door pick-up, not the four-door layout popular in the US and Australia, and smaller than anything currently in the GM line-up, according to Automotive News.

It's likely to be benchmarked against the Ford Maverick – which was considered but rejected for Australia – with a target price believed to be in the sub-$US30,000 range.

“We're creating these to get a reaction and then to try to modify it or move on,” the director of Chevrolet affordable EV and crossover design, Michael Pevovar, reportedly told journalists as he unveiled the designs in the US.

“What does work? What doesn't work? What's expected?"

“Affordability is the key portion of this, and there's lots of different ways to approach it.”

The baby pick-up, seen by Automotive News, is described as “futuristic and sporty”.

“Marketing images behind the pickup showed consumers using it for recreational activities, such as surfing,” it said.

Mr Pevovar said GM is targeting high-volume EVs as it expands its future line-up.

“What they don't have in volume, they make up for in a lower price. That draws people in,” he said.

He also told reporters GM was looking for feedback before moving further ahead with the baby pick-up plan.

“The input may come back that it's just too small, and that's OK,” he said.

“Maybe [it won't be] right for what this architecture can provide, but does it have legs for different architecture where it might need to be a little bigger?”