Rural Canadians Laugh At The Idea Of An Electric Pickup Truck

Mostly because they think electric pickups will not deliver what they need most.

Jul 10, 2019 at 8:01am ET

While the EV community has all eyes on future electric pickup trucks, such as the one Tesla is developing, the Bollinger B2, or the Rivian R1T, farmers in Alberta are mostly not aware of them. When they hear about them, they laugh, according to Automotive News Canada. Mostly because they doubt an electric truck would suit their needs.

Alberta farmers need pickup trucks to be dependable and capable of carrying a lot of loads. They also fear the need to recharge may put pickups away from the job for an amount of time they do not have to spare.

DC Fast-charging infrastructure is mostly present in big cities. Unless electric pickup truck manufacturers invest in them for rural areas, the farmers would have to do so. And they are apparently very comfortable with refueling their gas tanks whenever they need.

Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario, said that electric pickup trucks would have to have attractive pricing and also to deal well with huge loads. He claims the high torque demand would rapidly deplete the battery pack, requiring constant recharges.

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Instant torque is something EVs are unbeatable at, but high demand of that for prolonged periods of time is something perhaps only EV carmakers are aware of. And only due to their development efforts.

Anyway, the heavier a vehicle is compared to a similar one, the less payload it can offer. Electric vehicles, due to their battery packs, are naturally heavier than one with the same size, but with a combustion engine.

How will Rivian, Tesla, and Bollinger address these issues? Is it something they have already addressed in their future vehicles or electric pickup trucks will be devoted to lifestyle instead of hard work in farms?

Automotive News Canada has certainly proposed a very interesting discussion. You can read their full article on the link below. Do so and please remember to share with us your thoughts or knowledge on this matter.