Buying an electric vehicle in the U.S. up till now has been about compromise. They usually cost more than their gas counterparts, but they’re more environmentally friendly. They have instant torque, but towing depletes the battery quickly. All this is fine for car owners, but for trucks, especially for people who actually use their pickups for work? The compromises are out of the question.
Not only does Ford not want to compromise on its upcoming all-electric F-150 pickup, but in new announcements this week, the Blue Oval promised that the EV truck will absolutely crush older models in terms of performance, operational cost and even cargo.
“The electric F-150, which is undergoing tens of thousands of hours of torture testing and targeting millions of simulated, laboratory and real world test miles, will be more powerful than any F-150 available today,” the automaker said in a press release.
Specifically, Ford says it will offer “more horsepower and torque,” “the fastest acceleration” and, most importantly for EV skeptics concerned about hauling, “the ability to tow heavy trailers.” But power isn’t the only incentive the company is using to entice potential converts; the electric F-150 will also feature a “giant front trunk” (colloquially known as a “frunk”) thanks to the reconfigured powertrain in EVs, and it will reportedly cost 40% less than traditional F-150s in terms of the “lifetime total cost of operation,” which includes things like fuel, oil and maintenance.
The pledge came alongside a few large-scale manufacturing announcements. First, Ford patted itself on the back for starting production on the latest F-150, but more importantly it broke ground on the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, a new factory in the company’s Dearborn, Michigan industrial park where the electric F-150 will begin production supposedly by mid-2022 for a 2023 model.
All of this, it should be said, isn’t particularly surprising. Of course Ford needs to offer something undeniable to get Americans who have driven traditional F-150s their entire lives, and families who have driven them across generations, to consider going electric. One thing we didn’t expect this early is to get a preview of what the design will look like.
The preview image of the front-end [pictured above], which appears to feature a huge LED bar running along the top of the grille and around the headlights, shows up for just a split second in the middle of the half-hour Rouge Center presentation, which isn’t particularly exciting for people outside the industry.
If Ford has piqued your interest, you’d be better off watching this video of the prototype testing, which still has the old-school look, but some newfound power:
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