Electric EV Pickup Trucks to Go Get Your Groceries? Yes

flyinglentris

flyinglentris

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I had been under the impression that it would never happen, or that it would be very difficult, to make an electric pickup truck. I wondered whether such an EV would have the power to do what pickup trucks are meant to do.

Check this out ...

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning EV

Chevrolet Silverado EV

Toyota Tundra/Tacoma EV


It appears that the Ford F-150 beats the others into production with a released for sale model 2022.

What bothers me now, is that the battery materials for EV cars and trucks is in short supply and will make mass production of these vehicles difficult and possibly, more prone to be impossible.
 
As a pickup owner, I was going to make fun of your title, because pickups are [usually] terrible grocery-getters haha! However, now that I know what you're talking about, I find those pickups very intriguing, especially the F150.

With the front trunk (FRUNK), the Ford and Chevy resolve my problem with carrying groceries in a pickup: a traditional pickup only has the cab area covered (and water-tight), so the bed is useless for carrying a dozen grocery bags. With an electric pickup where a frunk gives you a locking, water proof compartment, you can very easily carry groceries here.

Now in the grander scheme of things, I don't know why an electric pickup didn't come to market sooner! Electric motors have almost instant torque, so unlike a gas or diesel pickup, no torque curve to think about. However, the batteries have always been the weak part of the equation, both in their energy density and in the availability of rare metals.
 
FowlersFreeTime said:
As a pickup owner, I was going to make fun of your title, because pickups are [usually] terrible grocery-getters haha! However, now that I know what you're talking about, I find those pickups very intriguing, especially the F150.

With the front trunk (FRUNK), the Ford and Chevy resolve my problem with carrying groceries in a pickup: a traditional pickup only has the cab area covered (and water-tight), so the bed is useless for carrying a dozen grocery bags. With an electric pickup where a frunk gives you a locking, water proof compartment, you can very easily carry groceries here.

Now in the grander scheme of things, I don't know why an electric pickup didn't come to market sooner! Electric motors have almost instant torque, so unlike a gas or diesel pickup, no torque curve to think about. However, the batteries have always been the weak part of the equation, both in their energy density and in the availability of rare metals.
Click to expand...

Yes, all that up-front 'frunk' under the hood space is now storage space, - deep storage space.

But the battery power drawbacks are not limited to the cost and availability of the raw battery materials. The availability of recharging stations is still a problem and the time to recharge for a pickup truck is, well time, and is not defined at this time. A hybrid might still hold more weight, but what a weakened vehicle that would be, on gas. And off roading with an EV truck just compounds the recharging issue to the max. You can't take spare battery juice with, or can? ??
 
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I think you're right that they should have embraced Hybrid sooner and then evolved to plug-in hybrid before going all in on electric. The infrastructure isn't there yet, but that isn't to say its a hopeless case. I used to laugh at Tesla owners, but now they're all over the place, proving that there is a successful use-case for all electric vehicles.

The Ford Maverick is a good example of hybrid done well. I only get 20mpg in my Ranger, so if I could have bought a hybrid version and gotten double that fuel economy like the Maverick's 40+mpg, I probably would have. Of course, the Maverick is smaller and is a poor substitute for the core demographic of American truck buyers.
 
FowlersFreeTime said:
I think you're right that they should have embraced Hybrid sooner and then evolved to plug-in hybrid before going all in on electric. The infrastructure isn't there yet, but that isn't to say its a hopeless case. I used to laugh at Tesla owners, but now they're all over the place, proving that there is a successful use-case for all electric vehicles.

The Ford Maverick is a good example of hybrid done well. I only get 20mpg in my Ranger, so if I could have bought a hybrid version and gotten double that fuel economy like the Maverick's 40+mpg, I probably would have. Of course, the Maverick is smaller and is a poor substitute for the core demographic of American truck buyers.
Click to expand...

For now, I am content with my gas guzzler 4x4 Off Roader and have no plans to buy a new truck.
 
Since Tesla has moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, near its Giga Factory being built there, I expect more eTrucks in Texas. GM and Toyota already have truck factories here, so adding one more model should be cost effective.

Considering many Texans use full-size pickup trucks to commute to and from work, and to get groceries, There is a potentially huge market here for eTrucks.

CD
 
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