Electric Ford F-150's shocking secret revealed
Ford is working on an electric F-150 pickup that will be going on sale in a couple of years, but its powertrain isn't the only thing that makes it special. A prototype spotted on public roads reveals it may also have a fully-independent suspension.
Electric pickups will be trucking down the road soon.
There aren’t any on sale yet from major manufacturers, but several old and new automakers have them in the works. Here’s a look at a few of the products planned for the next few years.
Rivian
Startup automaker Rivian is aiming to put its premium pickup into production by the end of 2020 at its factory in Normal, Ill. The midsize truck will have a starting price of $69,000 and feature four-motor all-wheel-drive, an air suspension system, a 400-mile range, an 11,000-pound tow rating, and the ability to accelerate to 60 mph in three seconds in top models. The company has attracted major investments from Amazon and Ford, for which Rivian will be building a separate vehicle using the R1T technology.
Ford
(Ford)
Along with whatever it and Rivian come up with, Ford is also developing a battery-powered version of the F-150 pickup. It hasn’t said when it will hit showrooms, but promises it will deliver the kind of capability the F-150 is known for. A prototype using the current F-150’s platform recently demonstrated its powertrain's ability to tow a train weighing over one million pounds.
Tesla
(Tesla)
Elon Musk has been teasing Tesla’s “cyberpunk” pickup for years, including the release of a shadowy teaser image, but says he will finally reveal it in the coming weeks. He said it’s styling may not be for everyone, but that it will be priced at $49,000 or less and that “the goal is to be a better truck than an F-150, in terms of truck-like functionality, and be a better sports car than a [Porsche] 911,” with 400 to 500 miles of range.
General Motors
(Chevrolet)
GM only confirmed rumors it is working on an electric pickup this spring and hasn’t said anything else about it. However, it plans to introduce 20 electric vehicles globally by 2023, so it’s a good bet that it will be one of them. Chevrolet may have offered a sneak peek at what to expect with the Colorado ZH2 military truck it debuted in 2016, which featured electric drive powered by a hydrogen fuel cell instead of a battery and has been field-tested by the U.S. Army.
Workhorse
(Workhorse)
Struggling startup Workhorse announced in May that it is in talks with General Motors to buy its idled Lordstown, Ohio, factory to manufacture a plug-in hybrid and fully-electric commercial pickup that it says it already has thousands of orders for, but has yet to close the deal.
Fisker
(Fisker)
Henrik Fisker, who’s last namesake car company went bankrupt, is at it again with a new California based outfit that is aiming to put an electric SUV into production by the end of 2021 and has teased a pickup version, but with only a rough rendering and no details about it or a target date for production.