Detroit Auto Show: Ford F-150 Electric Pickup Coming

Ford To Add To Its “Juggernaut” F-Series Truck Lineup

It’s been known for sometime that Ford plans to launch the hybrid F-150 in 2020 that will be built at Ford’s Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan. That’s part of a plan to spend $11 billion on electrified vehicles over the next few years to bring 16 battery-electric vehicles and 24 hybrids to the market.

Now there’s more F-150 electrified news. “We’re going to be electrifying the F-Series — battery electric and hybrid,” Jim Farley, Ford president of global markets, said Wednesday during a presentation at the Deutsche Bank Global Automotive Conference that followed the Detroit Auto Show.

In framing the company’s redesign, Farley said a move toward all-electric and hybrid would “futureproof” the billion-dollar F-Series franchise, which he called a “global juggernaut.”

Juggernaut indeed! Ford sold more than one million F-Series trucks globally in 2018.

Playing Catch Up

Ford has been dragging its feet when it comes to EVs. The Focus Electric five-door hatchback, the automaker’s sole full EV, was introduced as a 2012 model, has sold fewer that 10,000 units.

But Ford is trying to catch up. An unnamed “Mustang-inspired” battery electric SUV is due to hit the market in 2020. That vehicle is expected to have a 300-mile range, according to Ford’s top officials. It will be a performance-oriented SUV. It doesn’t have a name yet, though it was initially rumored to bear the Mach 1 badge.

Also, Lincoln, Ford’s premium car brand, announced that it is making an electric car based on the Mustang-inspired SUV EV.

Ford officials didn’t offer a timeline for the battery-electric F-150 or provide any details, but when it does arrive, it most likely will have competitors. Tesla continues to talk up its future pickup, and upstart Rivian revealed its entry at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. It is said to have a 400-mile driving range, towing capacity up to 11,000 pounds and a price range between about $70,000 and $90,000.

Pickup trucks with the instant torque of electric power? Bring ’em on!

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