MILFORD, Mich. — General Motors’ Premium brand GMC aims to become the market leader in sales of fully electric trucks for US consumers with the launch of its new electric pickup truck Sierra.

The Sierra EV joins electric versions of the Hummer, including an SUV and a pickup truck, in GMC’s electric “truck” lineup. The automaker expects the Sierra to become GMC’s best-selling electric vehicle when cheaper variants become available next year. An “Edition 1” of the vehicle, priced at about $100,000, recently became available to customers.

“We believe this is a completely different offering than anything that has been brought to market by anyone before, so we are confident in the demand,” Duncan Aldred, GMC’s global vice president, told CNBC at GM’s proving ground in suburban Detroit.

GMC has not announced a timeline for when the brand expects to sell the most electric trucks at retail. But to achieve this, it will need to sell more than its sister model, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, and competitors from Ford Motor, Rivian Automobiles And Teslawhich, according to Motor Intelligence, made the most sales in the second quarter with its Cybertruck.

Aldred said he believes there will be cross-shopping between the Sierra and the Cybertruck, but he doesn’t necessarily believe they are major competitors, even though the vehicles are similarly priced. Citing internal data, he said many Cybertruck buyers already own Teslas, while about 80% of GMC reservation holders for the Sierra previously owned vehicles from other manufacturers.

“We know that about 70% of Cybertruck buyers are Tesla owners,” he said during a media event. “So they’re not necessarily truck buyers, they’re Tesla buyers.”

Automakers like GM rushed to market all-electric pickup trucks, partly because Tesla was planning to build one, leading to fears that the U.S. electric vehicle leader would dominate the truck market, which is so important to the Detroit automaker, as it did with electric cars.

However, the introduction of electric vehicles has been slower than many expected and the market for electric trucks is still in its infancy.

According to Motor Intelligence, the all-electric pickup truck market totaled about 38,500 vehicles in the first half of the year, including retail and fleet sales. In comparison, more than a million conventional or hybrid full-size pickups were sold this year through June.

According to Motor Intelligence, Ford’s F-150 Lightning was the best-selling all-electric pickup truck in June, with 15,645 units sold. It was followed by the Tesla Cybertruck with nearly 11,600 units sold, including 8,755 units in the second quarter, which was the best seller in the segment, according to the automotive data and analytics company.

GMC’s Hummer pickup, whose production and sales have increased only slowly, recently produced fewer than 1,500 vehicles, including about 1,100 in the second quarter, according to Motor Intelligence.

“This is a very young market. These are just the first steps. General Motors’ confidence in its ability to lead in this space is justified by its experience with trucks and its understanding of the transition to electric vehicles,” said Stephanie Brinley, senior automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility. “The big question now is how quickly consumers (adopt electric trucks), not the product features.”

If you include the fully electric SUVs of these brands, which some companies like GM report under truck sales, Rivian is the clear leader with more than 22,700 R1S SUVs and R1T pickups sold in the first half of the year. By comparison, GMC’s Hummer SUV and pickup models were sold around 4,600 times.

Aldred said GM expects to ramp up production of the Sierra EV — including the AT4 off-road and entry-level Elevation models due next year — faster than it did with the Hummer models, which took years. Production of the Denali versions of the vehicle is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, according to GM.

The Sierra EV is now GM’s third electric pickup, joining the Hummer and a new Chevrolet Silverado, which have been on sale since December.

The Sierra EV’s biggest competitor is probably the Chevy Silverado EV. Both are based on GM’s “Ultium” vehicle platform and share many parts, features and performance characteristics.

The Detroit-based automaker has differentiated its vehicles through their interior and exterior design as well as their brand personality.

“Chevrolet has really focused on the fleet space. We’re really focused on retail, just like we did with (internal combustion engine) trucks. When you look at it, the electric truck space is a premium space,” Aldred said.

The Silverado is currently available in a sporty, expensive version for around $96,500 and as a work truck for fleet and commercial customers, which starts at around $67,000.

The Sierra is more upscale and luxurious than its Chevrolet counterpart: it features open-pore wood, larger windows, standard hands-free Super Cruise on the highway, GMC’s “crab mode” with four-wheel steering and other features.

“General Motors has done a good job of differentiating between GMC and Chevrolet,” said S&P Global’s Brinley. “The GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado electric cars look different enough, and General Motors has worked very well with both of those customers for decades. They know what they need to do to make something more attractive to a GMC buyer than a Chevrolet buyer, and that they are very subtly different.”

Both vehicles have an EPA range of 440 miles and offer up to 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque. Importantly for many truck customers, they also tow up to 10,000 pounds and can be charged for 100 miles in about 10 minutes using a DC fast charger.

A unique feature of the Silverado and Sierra electric vehicles compared to others is the ability to have a “midgate” feature, which allows the vehicle’s rear seats to fold down and the rear window to extend to create a 11-foot-long bed and a large cargo area.

According to Patrick Finnegan, senior marketing manager for GMC trucks and SUVs, the Sierra EV, including the Denali edition, is expected to continue to support GMC with its pricing power and reputation as a premium truck brand.

GMC has increased its average transaction prices and high-end models thanks to the newer AT4 off-road vehicles as well as Denali, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a GMC sub-brand.

For example, the average selling price of GMC’s traditional Sierra pickup is around $60,000. That includes Denali models for around $71,000 and a Denali “Ultimate” model for $78,500, according to the company.

GM has not yet announced pricing for the GMC Sierra Denali, AT4 and Elevation electric models that will follow the 2,500 examples of the “Edition 1” models, but Aldred said the Sierra could potentially be eligible for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits, which would mean it would cost less than $80,000.

Denali models have evolved from simple changes that set them apart from other vehicles to having their own distinct interiors, parts and features. The vehicles still have much of the same “basic framework” but offer more luxurious features and materials.

Denali models account for about 34% of GMC’s retail sales, GMC said, up from 18% a decade ago and 30% in 2019. The sales have helped GMC achieve what is expected to be the brand’s seventh consecutive year of growth.

“This will continue to help us secure our place in the premium market with average transaction prices. It will help us open the door to new customers,” Finnegan said. “We want to be the leading retailer in the electric truck space and we will have a broader product range that will really help us achieve that.”