DETROIT – General Motors is evaluating whether or not to develop its Corvette lineup – presently a two-seat sports activities automobile – so as to add its first-ever crossover or SUV, an individual aware of the discussions confirmed to CNBC.

Increasing considered one of GM’s most-prized nameplates to a unique physique model, if not a household of fashions, has been an on-again off-again dialogue contained in the Detroit automaker for a while. In late-2019, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas stated a Corvette sub-brand might be price $7 billion to $12 billion for the automaker.

Bloomberg reported Thursday afternoon that GM has designers engaged on a number of Corvette-brand idea autos that focus on a wider vary of patrons, possible as an all-electric crossover SUV as early as 2025.

A supply aware of Corvette’s operations, who requested to not be named as a result of the plans should not public, confirmed to CNBC that GM is discussing such an growth however burdened nothing has been finalized and comparable discussions earlier than haven’t resulted in any new merchandise.

A GM spokesman declined to remark.

If GM decides to develop Corvette to a crossover SUV, it could possible be electrical, analysts say. The corporate has dedicated to launching 30 new EVs by 2025 below a $27 billion plan to develop electrical and autonomous autos throughout that point interval. The subsequent-generation EVs will likely be underpinned and powered by GM’s new Ultium battery cells and platform, which the automaker spotlighted earlier this week in the course of the CES know-how convention.

“The Ultium platform will permit Chevrolet to additional develop its vary of electrical autos to full-size pickup vans, compact crossovers and even high-performance autos,” Michael Simcoe, GM’s vp of worldwide design, stated throughout a Tuesday presentation for CES, which was streamed on-line this yr.

The most important hesitation in increasing the Corvette line prior to now has been the danger of diluting the model and diminishing the repute of the sports activities automobile, which launched in 1953. However GM lately radically redesigned the car from a front-engine to mid-engine structure to nice fanfare. And such pondering has been debunked in recent times as client demand has moved away from vehicles to crossovers and SUVs.

A number of efficiency and luxurious automobile manufacturers reminiscent of Lamborghini, Maserati, Bentley and Aston Martin have all grown their manufacturers by including crossovers or SUVs. Porsche, which launched its first non-sports automobile almost 20 years in the past, now sells extra crossovers yearly than its conventional sports activities vehicles.

GM’s largest crosstown rival, Ford Motor, additionally expanded its Mustang lineup with a brand new all-electric crossover final yr called the Mustang Mach-E, which has largely obtained constructive critiques from critics.

In 2019, Morgan Stanley’s Jonas stated Corvette was “undervalued and underappreciated by the market” in a notice to traders. An growth, he stated, might help in funding the automaker’s pivot to all-electric vehicles.

When Jonas introduced up a Corvette SUV to GM CEO Mary Barra in 2019, she did not kill the thought: “Properly, I recognize that you simply assume our Corvette franchise could be very sturdy. I am not going to speak about future,” she stated throughout a quarterly earnings name in October.

Barra later added that GM would look “at quite a lot of issues as we transfer ahead. She stated that the corporate acknowledges “the power of the Corvette model.”