As part of an announcement confirming the start of production for a new-generation 2021 F-150 pickup Thursday, Ford released a few new pieces of information about the upcoming fully electric version due in 2022.
The model, the automaker said, will have more horsepower and torque than any F-150 available today, and it will have the lowest lifetime total cost of operation among all the versions of the F-Series truck family.
With dual electric motors, the F-150 Electric won’t just boast high output numbers; Ford said it will offer the fastest acceleration and the ability to tow heavy trailers—and that it will have an “enormous” frunk (front trunk) capable of hauling hundreds of pounds.
In an address, soon-to-be CEO Jim Farley noted that the truck will be able to power entire worksites, and he called the F-150 Electric “a workhorse, not a showhorse.”
Ford also noted that, like the upcoming 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, the Ford F-150 Electric will improve over time with “fast over-the-air updates.”
2021 Ford F-150
The F-150 itself is the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. market, and Ford says that in a segment of more than two million full-sized pickups sold per year, Ford makes half of them.
A study conducted by Boston Consulting and distributed by the automaker found that the F-150 contributes nearly $50 billion to the U.S. GDP and about 500,000 jobs to the U.S. economy, while Ford itself supports about 1 million American jobs.
Last December, Ford confirmed that it would be building hybrid and electric versions of the F-150 in Michigan. The $700 million investment in the Rouge Complex will add 300 new jobs and will support building the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid and the fully electric version of the F-150.
In summer 2019 the company teased a prototype electric F-150 pickup pulling 10 double-decker rail cars weighing more than a million pounds altogether, and loaded with 42 gas-powered F-150s. With this morning’s announcement, it released the above video footage teasing the electric F-Series towing a trailer up a steep proving-grounds grade and thrashing through mud.
Ford has revealed very little about the F-150 Electric so far. But its strategy in giving the F-150 hybrid the PowerBoost badge and focusing on towing and hauling versus maximum fuel economy could give the company a lot more flexibility in how it positions the fully electric truck.
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