Electric pickup trucks have been an epic failure in the U.S. But Ford, of all companies, wants to try making one again.
The much-hyped Tesla Cybertruck has been an enormous sales flop, barring a small group of loyal fans. Ford itself axed the F-150 Lightning last year, citing poor demand after federal tax credits expired last September. GM’s Factory Zero plant in Detroit, which builds the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and Hummer EV, has sat idle since March due to lackluster sales.
Consumers have made it abundantly clear they don’t want expensive electric trucks that can’t meet their towing or road-tripping needs. Even if they tow or cover long distances rarely, they want their trucks to have those capabilities without having to spend more than a comparable gas truck.
2026 Ford F-150 Lightning STX
Photo by: Ford
The problem runs so deep that even Ford CEO Jim Farley rang the alarm bells last year, calling the economics of large electric trucks and SUVs “unresolvable” on an earnings call. And the company booked nearly $20 billion in charges linked to its EV pullback, which included canceling the next-generation all-electric Lightning and other planned large EV models. The upcoming second-generation Lightning will instead be an extended-range electric vehicle with a gasoline backup generator.
Even among the electric trucks currently offered or planned for sale, their SUV siblings are winning handily. Rivian sold nearly 5,500 units of the R1S in Q1 this year, versus just 1,658 R1Ts, according to Cox Automotive. The upcoming Scout Traveler SUV commands 70% of reservations, with the Terra pickup taking the rest.
Despite the proven success of electric crossovers and SUVs, Ford’s next-generation EV platform will debut on a pickup truck, not an SUV.
Its upcoming midsize electric truck will ride on a dedicated software-defined EV platform and start at $30,000, targeting a market segment nobody has tackled yet. If it works, it could herald a new era for the brand. If it doesn’t, it will raise serious questions about how Ford plans to compete in a future with more and more EVs.
Alan Clarke, Ford’s executive director of advanced EV development, explained the automaker’s decision to lead with an electric truck in the recent Edmunds Podcast. He added that the trucks that have failed aren’t a referendum on electric pickups broadly. They’re a verdict on large electric pickups.
Alan Clarke, the executive director of advanced EV development at Ford.
Photo by: Ford
“Big trucks are a tougher market than small trucks,” Clarke said. According to him, full-size electric models are poorly suited for off-roading and rock crawling, as charging options can be scarce in the rural areas where you typically do those things. And towing, he noted, is a “tough use case” for EVs due to the steep energy demands. Midsize trucks, by contrast, tend to haul lighter loads like jet skis, small boats, and compact motorhomes. “It’s a much better use case,” he said.
Ford knows this segment pretty well. The gas-powered Maverick and Ranger both sell better than Ford’s EVs ever have. The automaker moved nearly 34,000 units of the Maverick in the first quarter of this year, with the Ranger adding 17,775 units. When the new electric truck lands in showrooms alongside those two proven models, it will need to be compelling enough to pull buyers away from trucks they already trust, which won’t be easy.
Clarke suggested that Ford is fully aware of what’s needed to succeed. At $30,000, it would have no real direct competitor. It’s also supposed to be practical for everyday use, with a cabin that will offer more interior volume than a previous-generation Toyota RAV4. “That is the number one selling SUV in the world. So clearly, a lot of people think that that’s a good, usable cabin size,” Clarke said. Ford also has an advantage over Tesla and Rivian. It has millions of existing pickup customers who it could convince to go electric without leaving the brand they already trust.
Photo by: Ford
Beyond the price and the packaging, Clarke said the truck needs to nail several other features—things like acceptable noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) levels, ride and handling, and driver engagement. “We keep using the ‘fun to drive’ moniker. That’s very important to us. It has to tug at your heartstrings,” he said.
According to him, the truck will also take aim at one of the most persistent complaints from pickup owners, which is the lack of secure, lockable storage on traditional models. Open beds don’t offer that. A frunk on an EV most definitely will. Clarke added that the digital experience would also need to match, with over-the-air updates and seamless app integration baked in from the start.
“This isn’t about being really good at being an EV,” he said. “It’s about being good as a product that happens to be an EV.”
It’s an important distinction that a lot of automakers have been trying to make with their third-generation EVs like the BMW iX3 and the Volvo EX60. Now only time will tell whether Ford’s new EV will be truly groundbreaking or another expensive experiment.
Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com