Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Global Automotive Conference in Detroit Ford President Jim Farley, on Wednesday confirmed that Ford will launch a fully-electric F-series to put up a worthy fight against planned pickup trucks from Tesla as well as new EV entrants such as Rivian and Atlis.
“We're going to be electrifying the F-Series—battery-electric and hybrid,” he said, the Detroit Free Press reported on Wednesday. This is, however, not the first time that Ford has confirmed such a plan. Ahead of this, the American automaker had stated confirmed plans for a hybrid F-Series, specifically the light-duty F-150.
Farley added that the move will help 'futureproof' the F-series, which currently stands as the top scorer in Ford's sales registries. The automaker sold more than a million of them worldwide in 2018, but a new breed of electric trucks has the potential to upset things.
EV giant Tesla has been quiet on its plans of an electric pickup. Meanwhile, new entrants such as Rivian and Atlis took the industry by storm with its staggering specifications. The Atlis XT, for instance, claimed a 2267kg-payload rating and 15,875kg of tow rating. Apart from that, the truck offers 381mm of ground clearance and will be able to power tools on a worksite.
In the same breath, Rivian will most likely launch the new R1T by next year with its new factory. It comes with a level-3 autonomous system. By far, Rivian has not officially revealed the pricing on the variants but we know that the bike will come in three battery sizes including 180 kWh, 135 kWh and 105 kWh. The range on the smallest battery pack will be 370km while the mid-seated battery pack will deliver close to 482km.
