Ford F-150 Electric Pickup Truck Tows 1 Million Pounds: Video

If our audience is an indication of what is to come from electric pickup trucks, Ford is absolutely right to have more than an eye on this future market segment. And it definitely wants a piece of that cake, but appealing to its regular customers. It is just a matter of being capable of towing 1 million pounds around.

Ford did just that with Linda Zhang, chief engineer for the F-150, at the steering wheel of an F-150 electric prototype. The company asked five F-150 owners to meet its team in a railroad and told them the prototype could tow 10 double-decker rail cars.

This convoy weighs 1 million pounds, according to Ford. And, as expected, Zhang made it look like it was everyday business to do that with the F-150 electric prototype.

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Right beside the rail cars were 42 2019 F-150 pickup trucks. They were there to represent the 42 straight years of production of the current best selling vehicle on the planet, but also for a little more. Or not that little, since they added 250,000 pounds to the 10 double-decker rail cars.

Linda Zhang waited for the pickup trucks to be loaded and towed the rail cars one more time with the electric prototype of the F-150.

The engineer stresses that “build Ford tough is all about durability, capability, and productivity” and that the new F-150 “extends that to a whole new arena”. Any doubts about who the company wants to buy its future electric truck?

If there is any, you should click here to read this text from Ford’s global director of electrification, Ted Cannis. It does not offer any news on when the electric F-150 will arrive, but clearly states this:  

We are all about building better trucks for our customers who have real work to do every day. Trucks that can do more for our owners. Trucks that meet new sets of needs. Because leaders lead.

Needless to say, the pickup owners were more than impressed. It is worth watching the video to see their reactions. Depending on charging times and prices, they would be probably not laughing at the idea of an electric truck.

Ford’s only problem is that this is a product for the future, while the Rivian R1T and the Tesla pickup truck will probably hit the market as early as 2020. 

Jim Gorzelany bets electric pickups will be a solid reality even without regular customers, such as Canadian farmers. What if they like the idea and Ford has nothing ready to offer? Will they still be loyal to the brand if they accept to have a taste of something else? Ford would better hurry.

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Source: Ford