Electric trucks also face an uphill battle with buyers. Internal combustion pickup trucks are heavily advertised for how much they can tow and tow. In 2022 Car and Driver assembled three electric pickup trucks, hitched a 6,100-pound camper trailer to each, and drove just 140 miles on a fully charged battery in the top-performing truck.
Under ideal conditions, charging a nearly dead EV will take about 40 minutes on a public fast charger, assuming you can find one. For towing truck owners, this can make a trip to the boathouse or campground a full day’s work. With charging infrastructure in the US currently struggling, an electric pickup likely won’t be a starter for anyone who tows their truck.
What took them so long?
Hybrid technology has been present in the American market for more than 20 years. It’s almost a wonder we’re only now seeing it in pickup trucks. Electric motors are most powerful at low speeds, which means the hybrid truck can get the most out of its battery when it’s working hardest: Accelerating from a dead stop when loaded with a heavy load or a large trailer.
Hybrids also use much smaller batteries than full electric cars, making them much cheaper to produce and buy – and for customers used to filling up at a gas station, they don’t require any change in driving habits.
PHOTO: FORD PRESS
PHOTO: FORD PRESS
Ford CEO Jim Farley seems bullish on hybrids. “We need to stop talking about this as a transitional technology,” the executive said at an event in May. His opinion contradicted that of fellow Detroit native Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who appeared at the same industry event. As for hybrids, Barra said “it’s not the end of the game because it’s not zero emissions,” stressing that full electrification is still GM’s long-term strategy.
Currently, most major automakers are prioritizing hybrids, in part because of uncertainty over future regulations that could affect both battery production and internal combustion engine sales.
Farley cited another reason he’s excited about hybrids that helps explain the Maverick 2025 changes. “Many of our hybrids in the U.S. are already more profitable than their non-hybrid equivalent,” Farley said at that event in May. Indeed, the 2025 Ford Maverick. it now starts at $26,295 for the base model truck, with the previously optional hybrid powertrain now standard.
