Electric pickup trucks in the works: Coming soon, on-sale and questionable
Not long ago, pickup drivers who wanted to go electric had exactly zero options to choose from. Now there are but a few with more on the way — some we know about and other still to be revealed. There are also certainly some electric trucks currently planned that sadly won’t see the light of day. Here are the EV pickups we’ve officially been told to expect, along with some rumored products. For good measure, we’ve included those few success stories that have already begun making their way into customers’ garages, as well as those that have been abandoned by their makers.
Here’s what’s coming
Some of the major automakers, which have already proven they can build and sell cars, have announced that they’ve got electric pickup trucks coming, whether sooner or later. Here are a few that seem like sure things.
Chevy Silverado EV
Chevy has already shown us the 2024 Silverado EV, which is a departure from the design of the internal-combustion Silverado, harkening back to the look of the Chevy Avalanche. From the get-go, it will offer up to 664 horsepower and 780 pound-feet of torque, as well as an estimated 400 miles of range. Chevy has also already teased a Trail Boss version of the Silverado EV. The company also said the First Edition sold out in just 12 minutes, without saying how many it offered up for pre-sale.
GMC Sierra EV
GMC hasn’t fully revealed its electric Sierra version of the Silverado EV, but this more mainstream follow-up to the behemoth Hummer EV should see the light of day later this year. It did show us a teaser, however, that gave us a good look at the truck’s front end.
Ram 1500 BEV
Ram is well on its way to showing us its first all-electric pickup. It has been holding public meetings in order to help develop the design and features that customers say they want. Being somewhat of a latecomer — the Ford F-150 Lightning and GMC Hummer EV have already launched — the pressure is on Ram to deliver, and it is promising big things. “We will push past our competitors in terms of those important metrics like towing and hauling and, in the future, charge time, range and things of this nature,” brand CEO Mike Koval told Automotive News. We can expect Ram to show a version of the 1500 BEV this year, with production beginning in 2024.
Toyota Pickup EV
Late last year, Toyota showed a number of electric vehicles it’s planning for its future portfolio. One of these was the plainly named Toyota Pickup EV, which borrows Tundra styling in what appears to be a Tacoma-sized package. We don’t have a specific date for its launch, but we know Toyota is planning to launch 30 electric models between now and 2030.
Another Ford electric pickup
At the launch of the F-150 Lightning, Ford CEO Jim Farley said, “We’re already pushing dirt down in Blue Oval City for another electric pickup truck that’s different than this one.” He provided no other details about that pickup, but it sounds like basically a done deal. Whether it’s an electric version of one of its other pickup nameplates — Ranger and Maverick — or something entirely different, the performance of the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E have us thinking Ford has another smashing success in store for us.
Volkswagen Scout
In May of 2022, VW announced it would sell an electric pickup (and an SUV) under the Scout brand. “The first prototypes are to be unveiled next year, and production is scheduled to start in 2026,” VW said in a statement. This came as a surprise to Volkswagen dealers.
Tesla Cybertruck
Tesla revealed its wild Cybertruck back in 2019. It has been delayed, but as of this writing, Elon Musk’s most recent promise has the Cybertruck reaching production in 2023.
Lesser known, lesser certainty
Before the legacy automakers started announcing their plans for electric trucks, a number of startups raced to get their ideas in front of consumers. Here are a few that we know of, but we wouldn’t bet any money that these will all see the light of day.
Lordstown Endurance
Lordstown Motors has seen its share of troubles and uncertainties, but its Endurance pickup, last we heard, is supposed to go into production in 2022. GM recently sold its stake in the startup, but Lordstown maintained then that it would build 500 trucks this year and 2,500 in 2023, but that it was also looking to raise about $250 million to execute its plan.
Canoo Pickup Truck
Canoo previewed its electric pickup back in 2021. It’s currently available for preorder on Canoo’s website, with the official launch “as early as 2023.” Canoo says it will have “200+” miles of range, single- and dual-motor variants, and up to 600 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque.
Hercules Alpha
Hercules Electric Vehicles plans to build the Alpha electric pickup. Claims are lofty: 1,000 horsepower, 300 miles of range, 12,000 pounds of towing and a 0-60 time of 4 seconds. It will also use a solar tonneau cover. As of July 2021, Hercules was planning to launch the Alpha “in late 2022,” and had announced a partnership with Pininfarina to design EVs.
EdisonFuture EF1-T
This startup first showed its conceptual EF1-T electric pickup and EF1-V van in 2021, and has said it hopes to begin selling vehicles in 2025. It plans three trims, with the top version using a 180-kilowatt-hour battery, three electric motors for 816 total horsepower, with 450 miles of range, 11,000 pounds of towing capacity and a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds.
Alpha Wolf
Startup EV-maker Alpha has been dropping interesting concepts over the past couple years. One of those is the compact Alpha Wolf, which looks cool — if it ever sees the light of day. It comes in single-motor (FWD) and dual-motor configurations (RWD) with up to 275 miles of range and 3,000 pounds of towing. Alpha has also shown off the Wolf+ with an extended cab, as well as a crew cab SuperWolf. The company has said that it plans on delivering vehicles no sooner than 2023.
Atlis XT
EV startup Atlis is planning its XT electric pickup, with 6.5- and 8-foot beds, up to 20,000 pounds of towing (or 35,000 with a fifth-wheel setup), up to 500 miles of range and a 0-60 time of 5 seconds. The design of the truck has changed since earlier iterations, and now the company plans to offer the XT as an all-inclusive subscription service.
Neuron EV T.One
Revealed late last year at the China International Import Expo, the Neuron EV T.One will ride on a skateboard chassis. There might be a fuel-cell powertrain in the works, too. Like the previous two on our list, we’re not really holding our breath for this one.
Rumors
There are a few other electric trucks that may or may not be in the works, but have at least been talked about.
Fisker electric pickup
Back in February of 2020, Henrik Fisker tweeted a picture of an electric pickup with the word “Alaska” across the bed. Then he deleted the tweet. Later, Fisker posted renderings of a much different looking electric truck. The company has suggested multiple times it could build a pickup, saying it would have four models by 2025.
Lucid electric pickup
This one’s not set in stone, but Lucid Motors is planning a full range of EVs, including, possibly, a pickup truck. “If we want to make a longer vehicle, like a pickup or something like that — which we may want to make in the future — the paint shop is future-proofed for pickups,” said Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson back in August.
VW Amarok EV
Another vague potential plan in the works, Volkswagen board member for electric mobility, Thomas Ulbrich, told Autoblog back in 2020 that the Amarok (the only body-on-frame pickup in VW’s portfolio) could hypothetically be offered as an EV. “We are looking at what Rivian is doing, because normally it is difficult to believe that a car like the Amarok, for example, could be electrified,” he said. “But, nevertheless, step by step our investigation and research makes us think it becomes more possible. By making this technology more and more robust, an Amarok-type of car would be BEV.” As recently as April 2022, VW Commercial Vehicles’ board member for marketing, Lars Krause, has suggested the Amarok could get an electric variant.
Technically On Sale
After years of EVs gaining ground, the market until very recently lacked actual substance in the pickup segment. How rapidly things change. Here are the few electric trucks that have finally made their way to production, though they have been dogged by slow roll-outs and limited supply.
GMC Hummer EV
GMC came out swinging with its first electric pickup. The 2022 Hummer EV is an exercise in superlatives, and it delivers on its capabilities. It’s such a special (and expensive, and heavy, and fast) vehicle that its flaws are easy to overlook.
Rivian R1T
This startup, as startups do, had trouble getting its first vehicle off the production line. But it eventually did, and you can now spot the Rivian R1T out in the wild. Customers can enjoy smart design, capable on- and off-road performance, and clever packaging. Now if it can just get the R1S SUV off the ground.
Ford F-150 Lightning
The electric F-150 was a recipe for success. Take America’s best-selling nameplate and give it a super potent electric powertrain without changing much else? “Sign me up,” said thousands of consumers. The order books for the 2022 Lightning were already closed by the time we even had the chance to drive it. After spending time behind the wheel, we understand why.
RIP
Of course, some of the products envisioned by the startups above could be vaporware. Sadly, a couple of once-promising EV trucks have already been canceled.
Bollinger Motors B2
The promising Class 3 electric truck from Bollinger, along with its SUV counterpart, looked like they would have been terrific off-roaders. Since their unveiling, though, Bollinger has decided to give up on consumer vehicles to focus on commercial EVs.
Nikola Badger
EV startup Nikola had unveiled its Badger pickup before seeing tough times. While the company has begun building electric semis, the Badger now languishes in the “Prior Innovations” section of the company website.
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