Ford revs up electric pick-up trucks to blaze past Tesla

Now, Ford and GM are racing to design radical new takes on their most profitable models, replacing petroleum-fueled engines with batteries in a bid to outflank Tesla Inc’s plan to eclipse their brands. Ford’s F-150 pickup and GM’s Chevrolet Silverado are the top selling vehicles in the US market.

“This is going to be a real watershed for the whole industry,” Ford Chairman Bill Ford told Reuters in a recent interview. The automaker has disclosed few details about the electric F-series, but Bill Ford hinted the truck could have load-carrying space under the hood in addition to the traditional bed in the back.

“You pick up all that extra space where the engine compartment has been,” Ford said. An electric F-Series could be a work truck - with its batteries functioning as a job site power source, he said. And it could be positioned as a high-performance vehicle next to the gas-fuelled, 450 horsepower Raptor pickup truck.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based company has said it will invest $11.5 billion electrifying its vehicles by 2022, including adding 16 fully electric models, all of which will be profitable. Ford and GM have more than one reason to take chances on electric pick-ups - a concept that some analysts and industry executives say could be a small niche.

Electric pick-ups could help Ford and GM generate the significant sales of EVs they will need to meet tougher emission standards and electric vehicle mandates in California and other states. The Trump administration is moving to roll back those standards, but the electric trucks are a hedge if California prevails.