EREVs Seen As Future of Fullsize TrucksEREVs Seen As Future of Fullsize Trucks

In the summer of 2021, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Executive Chairman Bill Ford introduced the Ford F-150 Lightning in a splashy, heavily produced web event at the automaker’s Dearborn headquarters, the setting reflecting restrictions imposed during the pandemic.

Some 200,000 pre-orders for the battery-electric pickup flooded in. A special assembly line for the Lightning was added to Ford’s Rouge manufacturing complex.

Then reality set in. A huge percentage of the pre-orders evaporated as weaknesses in the truck surfaced and the truck-buying demographic saw less and less advantage to owning one.

Now, says Farley, extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) will be essential to the American market. “The reason is simple. Americans love their big cars. They love their big trucks,” he says.

There’s “no way” to make electric versions (of fullsize pickups and SUVs) profitably at a price truck and large SUV owners will pay. EREVs, Farley says, may be a solution. And they're not perceived as a half-step, like hybrids, he says.

EREVs have an electric drivetrain that includes a gasoline engine that acts as a generator to extend vehicle range.

The Ford CEO says consumers have proved they won’t pay a premium for a BEV compared with an ICE alternative, leaving automakers in a quandary.

Truck buyers remain doubtful about BEV pickups.  While the Lightning offers an EPA-estimated 320 miles (515 km) of range (with the extended range battery), real-world tests by multiple third-party testers including MotorTrend and TFL Truck Test show that towing significantly reduces range, sometimes by 50% or more. Additionally, Lightning weighs about 6,500 lbs. (3,460 kg), significantly more than a standard F-150, which impacts handling and braking.

Farley did not say the next-generation Lightning would be an EREV, but two executives doing business with Ford, who asked not to be named, say that’s the most likely scenario. Even Farley says it is an easy lift to convert a BEV to an EREV, “because there’s no transmission, there’s no gears, no driveline. There’s no axles, duplicate axles, There’s no duplicate powertrain. The incremental investment of fitting that combustion engine in there is very minimal.”

Ram is coming out with its 1500 Ramcharger fullsize pickup this year. Ram chief Tim Kuniskis said when he returned to Stellantis to run the brand that the first thing he did was ask for approval to move up the EREV project and move back the BEV version of the Ram pickup. The latter may have been killed altogether.

The Ramcharger can travel up to 145 miles (234 km) solely on electric power from its 92-kWh battery pack. When utilizing both the electric battery and the 3.6L gasoline V-6, the Ramcharger’s total driving range extends to approximately 690 miles (1,110 km).

General Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado EV, on sale now, is not selling well, having been launched into the teeth of last year’s election and a raft of anti-electric-vehicle rhetoric from Republicans. A GM spokesman says Chevrolet has no announcement regarding killing the Silverado EV.

GM was the first to introduce an EREV, with the Chevy Volt, in 2010, followed by the now-discontinued BMW i3.  The Volt was named North American Car of the Year in 2011. The Volt could travel 35–53 miles (56-85 km) (depending on model year) on pure electric power before the gasoline engine engaged and kept the battery powered to keep moving the car down the road. GM sold the Volt for nine years, with 2016 the high-water mark with 24,700 sales.

Scout Motors, which is launching an electric SUV and pickup in 2027, also plans to use EREV powertrains.