General Motors shared last year that it’s given a “tiny bit” of thought to building an electric pickup truck. Ford, on the other hand, confirmed it has an electric F-150 on the way.
The Detroit Free Press reported last Wednesday on comments Jim Farley, Ford president of global markets, said during a Deutsche Bank Global Automotive Conference in Detroit. He explicitly said the automaker will electrify the F-Series with both hybrid and battery-electric powertrains.
The hybrid and electric versions will be sold alongside one another and “future-proof” the pickup truck for Ford, Farley added. We know Ford has earmarked $15 billion for future electric cars, and we imagine an electric F-150 is a major project inside the Blue Oval—the automaker’s cash cow and wellbeing.
With an electric F-150, Ford will also potentially take on competition from Tesla, which has promised an electric pickup for years, and Rivian. The latter plans to begin the sale of its electric pickup in a couple of years.
But, Ford could blindside GM. Last September, CEO Mary Barra shared the automaker has put just a tiny bit of thought into an electric pickup truck. She didn’t share any additional information, but it was hardly a confirmation like Ford dished out during auto show week in Detroit.
Notably, GM did not mention trucks at all as it detailed its electric-vehicle plans during an investor conference this month, either. The automaker spoke of a new dedicated electric-car platform, BEV3, for cars and SUVs, but not a peep about electric trucks. Perhaps a different platform may carry the automaker when pickups inevitably include more electrification.
Comments
They’ve confirmed they are working on an EV F-Series, not necessarily an F-150. This could be platform and size specific away from the F150.
I think the best segment to introduce an EV truck is the middle ground between the midsize and fullsize trucks, as in the Ridgeline size.
And to most efficiently make an EV truck isn’t by bastardizing a current BOF ladder frame.
Im curious to see what Ford and GM have in the pipeline for an EV truck and the platform it rides on.
The Ridgeline size would likely use the announced BEV platform. There’s logic to that. The 1/2 ton size is a bolder move with vehicles that have more price margin to absorb costs. Bastardizing a BOF frame would mean a whole new frame, keeping body bushing and bed mounting points. There would be a lot of room for batteries.
It should have to show up in the Escalade before a Silverado or Sierra.
Buyers for EV trims would know going in, they’re not towing long distances easily. They’d have to consciously trade some of the truck capability image for the EV experience (quiet, ride, acceleration) and tech hype.
GM has released many detailed EV roadmaps, trucks were never a part of them and even other exec have said no to a GM EV pickup truck…That isn’t to say that they would change in the future yet what SHOULD be done is not make an EV silverado/sierra, rather EV the Colorado and put a neutral Buick badge on it…
Lots of people forget, most pickup truck buyers do not work on construction sites, they often tow their toys like boats and occasional make a home improvement center run…
I agree. Ford is making a mistake by trying to push EV into a full-size truck first. The massive battery that would be required to a make an F-150 with useful range and power would drive the cost up to absurd levels. Plus the weight of the battery would eat up nearly all the truck’s payload capacity. It would make way more sense to electrify the Ranger first. I think this announcement by Ford’s CEO was a desperation move to help distract from the very disappointing annual report that was previewed last week. I think the full report is due either this week and next week. This wouldn’t be the first time Hackett used new vague announcements as a way of distracting from bad news. He announced an EV SUV that he initially wanted to call the Mach 1. He had an artists rendering of some Mustang inspired taillights and a few vague details. We haven’t heard anything since then.
GM – as usual is a follower – not a leader as it once was – the new line of 1500 pickups are a huge let down and the competition is eating GM’s lunch.
GM keeps blowing it time and time again – they should have BLOWN away the competition- but instead fell to 3rd place AGAINST THE DODGE RAM????
Give your head a shake GM – someone need to be fired!!
I’d bet Chevy looses second place to Ram soon. But I also bet Silverado will be more profitable even with lower sales to Ram and Ford
stock holders don’t care how many trucks you sell they just want a nice return on their investment.
stop reading magazines and actually drive the trucks, the new silverados are great. Its these kind of cliched comments that indicate people spend way too much time parroting the opinions of others rather than coming to their own conclusions. GM probably has an EV truck in the pipeline, by the way.
Oh, you forgot to mention the Rams giant center console screen in your comments. Aren’t you supposed to mention that? (every. single. time.)
What about those of us who have driven them and still find the Ram far superior? What’s the excuse then?
GM was caught with its pants down doing the bare minimum, as usual. The interior would have been fine in 1995 but by today’s standards (and prices) is disgusting.
Yes, there are some interesting engine choices this time, but they’re limited to a few top of the line models.
If you’ve owned both for a while and have that opinion–great. I like my K2 Silverado interior a lot. There are a lot of Silverado owners out there who really like it. How can I be wrong about my own truck?
The engines are great. The only engine choice limited to higher trims is the 6.2, and most people have no need for it. The 5.3 is a great modern engine, some would say the best mid-range engine in the pickup world. It is incredibly efficient and makes good power for most applications.
I’ve never owned a Ram, so I would never presume to talk about one. I’m sure they are great trucks. So is my Silverado and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another. I would not call the T1 trucks “bare minimum” although I agree with you that the pricing on trucks has gotten ridiculous. If you spec out a similar truck from all manufacturers, it ends up being roughly the same price all said and done, except I feel like you can get more discounts from Chevrolet and end up paying much less.
The new RAM has tons of problems that you can find if you look on forums. People hold it up as this holy grail of trucks, its not. It’s just another 2019 truck, its good, yea, but is it “far superior” to a silverado? Not really.
I’m glad you enjoy your K2 Silverado and I agree with you on the interior. Just a bit of a correction though, upper trims of the Silverado come standard with the 5.3 and the 6.2 is actually an option, which I think is great.
My main problem with the Silverado is that a lot of highly desirable features are limited to certain packages and higher trims. For example, if you just want an LT, which in itself is already pretty expensive, you are limited to the 5.3, which is by far the weakest feeling mid-range engine in the class, and I’ve driven the coyote 5.0, 5.7 Hemi, and Nissan’s 5.6.
Another example is that on the new Silverados, if you want a 2-speed transfer case, you are limited to the Z71 package, unless you can afford to buy a 6.2, which is again limited to higher trims.
In the end, it comes down to what you prefer, but the fact is that Ford moved the needle in 2015. Ram moved the needle in 2019. The last time GM moved the needle in this segment was 1999.
RAM problems on forums – the pot calling the kettle black: There are already a plethora of issues mentioned on GM forums on these new trucks. Electronic error messages are to be expected on any GM product in the cold, but there have also been brake failures already.
lI am glad to see positive comments about the new GM 1500 series – I have driven GM ALMOST exclusively all of my life – I own a 2017 Grand Sport (vette), 2018 Enclave Premiere and a 2017 Sierra 15oo Denali. I am VERY disappointed that GM trucks (1500) are now 3rd- GM had a real opportunity to move ahead of the pack and they REALLY fell short – I guess the trucks are ok if you use them for work -BUT the upper trim levels such as the High Country and the Denali did not get enough refinement – – Some of the things I noticed when I test drove the new style 2019 Denali – The dash is VERY similar to the 2018, the seats are not as comfortable as the old style, the center council has less space and is too static, the column shifter should be gone, no panoramic sunroof, old style leaf springs ( I had an Avalanche and it had coil over and air suspension in the rear – why not the new pickups) , static rear seats VS Ram reclining – I mean for the money they want they should have auto butt wipers. Some of the things I really like 1)Remote keyless entry and push button start, Heads up display, active cylinder management, surround vision camera, most safety features such as lane keep, lane departure auto collision braking etc- but why no adaptive cruise??, rear tailgate, assist handle for getting in the bed, 6.2 V8 tried and true an the way it looks. Things I do not like about the Ram- 5.7 hemi – old tech 8 to 4 deactivation, 8 speed trans, 12 inch display is too much and if something goes wrong you are screwed, goofy stitching on the door panels and center council, POOR QUALITY REPUTATION, resale, no tailgate or steps to enter rear of truck power step boards look goofy and appear mechanically inferior to the GM —So GM would not have a hard time blowing them out of the water!!!. things I do like about the Ram – 1)price – you get all the options for a much lower price than the GM 2) It looks really good – the old GUPPY face is gone and if they did not get rid of it it would be a mistake. 3) air ride, 4) coil springs 5 )panoramic sunroof. SOOOOO – you can see there is probably more I like about the GMC than the Ram but the GMC/Silverado need to step the interior quality and features. Yes – I still like the GM but the Ram is getting lots of attention and it is taking customers away from Ford and GM. Hope that clarifies my position. Appreciate your comments.
leaf springs are better for basically every single truck function except ride quality, so if you’re using your truck as a real truck, better to go with GM.
people shouldn’t complain about the interior of a pickup on a high end trim. It’s a truck, GM isn’t going to make a custom interior for the upper trim levels that most people don’t buy. Most people buy an LT and the interior is pretty nice for that level of trim.
That’s unfortunate that the seats aren’t as comfortable. Can you elaborate on that?
Column shifter is fail safe and works why change it. I hate electronic dials for gear changing.
price–spec a similar truck on GM and FCA, it’s gonna come out to be roughly the same.
The one thing I can’t believe is that you can’t get high capacity fuel tank on a 1500 silverado.
Lol at the column versus stupid dial for the Ram. We rented both a 4X4 Ram and Silverado at Enterprise last year. The sales attendant told us that the Rams dial was one of the most complained about features when customers were asked how they liked the vehicle. The Ram also had a tick in the engine when it reached full operating temperature and a rear axle whine that got worse as the day wore on. The Silverado was flawless in comparison and actually got 3 better real world MPG comparing the 5.3 AFM and 5.7 Hemi using there std axle ratios of 3.08 and 3.21.
Ram’s multilink rear suspension is awful and the payload ratings STILL reflect this fact despite Ram claiming best in class payload yadda yadda yadda. A 2019 Ram 1500 with the ‘pretty’ interior typically comes with a miserable payload capacity of 1200 to 1500 lbs. Those are midsize truck payload ratings. Besides the awful payload ratings, their air ride suspension is a mess. Anybody that’s owned a Ram with air ride in a cold weather state has probably had the misfortune of having to drive their Ram to the dealer with the system malfunctioning — usually the front air bags are totally deflated and riding on the bump stops, while the rear air bags are inflated to their maximum capacity. It’s almost comical to see and the ride to the dealer is a harsh one. It’s a common and hilarious failure.
The column shifter shouldn’t be gone (what you really think that minivan shift knob Ram uses is any good? It’s EMBARRASSING). There’s nothing wrong the 2019 dash. Just because it’s similar to the last model means nothing. New for the sake of new is a foolish expectation that only fools make. When you change every single part in a vehicle (like Ram pretty much did), you end up spending the next 3 to 5 years slowly addressing every issue that those changes created. The 2019 Ram 1500 is a quality mess right now. Electrical issues, squealing brakes, transmission problems, stalling issues, water leaks galore, rattles galore, trims pieces falling off, assembly mistakes (loved the video of a 2019 Ram 1500 with chrome exterior trim on one side and flat black trim on the driver side) . The 2019 Ram 1500 is clunker with a glitter plastered all over the inside.
I hate to break it to you but GM is firmly in 2nd place in the full-size market. They sold over 268,000 more fullsize trucks than Ram. Enough of the garbage talk. How is GM following exactly? This vague announcement made by Jim Hackett was nothing more than an effort to distract investors from yet another poor Ford sales report. Just like his last EV announcement where he showed an artist rendering of the silhouette of an SUV with Mustang taillights. That announcement was conveniently made during a quarterly sales report. Besides, what good would an F-150 be if the gigantic battery it would require to have a useful range would also take up all the payload capacity it would otherwise have. This whole concept of a halfton EV pickup is absurd.
It seems that you think Ford is somehow a leader. Funny. I seem to recall that Ford was the one that cancelled their Ranger years ago, claiming that midsize buyers will gladly upgrade to an aluminum F-150. Yet here we are, Ford showing up with a “new” Ranger 4 years after GM brought the midsize market back to life with not only two midsizers, but two midsizers with a diesel engine option — the only diesel powered midsize truck available in the US — but also the ZR2, the most capable off-road midsize truck on the market today. But go ahead, continue your narrative of the alternate reality you apparently live in.
Those who put blame on GM leadership for today’s decisions have no clue of GM’s history. It’s probably one of the most difficult times for the auto industry to plan for the future especially what power source to choose. What percentage of fossil fuel vs alternative power to build. Over twenty years ago fuel cells was a engineering challenge and perhaps an answer to fossil fuels. GM invested millions and built a few prototypes but a readily supply of hydrogen filling stations was a bigger challenge. Only twenty years ago GM had an all electric car and millions of dollars was invested. The program was scraped in 1999. Not many complaints back then since the battery technology was limited. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1
As I see it the auto industry will have to have partnership with battery and technology development companies to be able to afford new product development. We see it now with transmissions and why not with battery development. Tesla’s Panasonic battery rack, from what I have read, is an engineering marvel. Ford, GM, and anyone else I’m sure are being solicited by battery manufacturers. Why spend millions when all you need to go the a third party and put in an order. It’s not new, Boeing and Airbus partnership with companies all over the world to build parts for their aircraft and delivered to a final assembly plant. For all the big players in the auto industry only makes sense to go down this road. Once GM design its electric platforms, all you need to do is bolt on a pickup body or a SUV body.
Just trying to follow the auto news, with alternative power coming in, is tough. If BEVs end up being a stepping stone to fuel cells, Ford has catching up to do. Their development partnership with Daimler, Renault, Nissan was ended last year. For power sources, it could be an all-of-the-above game for a good long time. GM has a strong hand. It’s hard not to root for them to play their cards.
Given the Buick Enspire concept CUV and GM CEO Mary Barra announcement that GM was prepared to introduced 20 new EV by 2023 (in June 2018); one has to assume that there’s every possibility that Chevrolet will have an Electric variant of the Silverado by 2023.
Say hello to the new 100K pickup truck.