Though EV sales have been growing in recent months, they still represent a small percentage of overall vehicle sales. Throw in the fact that a lot of consumers have hesitations when it comes to making the switch from ICE-powered vehicles, and it’s clear that the automotive industry has some work to do. However, at least one person – EV charging network ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano – believes that the secret to winning over Americans is electric trucks.
Romano believes that as fleet owners convert to electric pickups in the coming years due to their lower maintenance costs, drivers and truck shoppers will follow. “They’ll pull into the parking lot with their personal pickup truck, hang their stuff in the locker, and pick up the keys to the work truck,” Romano told Bloomberg. “You have a built-in test-drive: ‘I drive one of these electric ones every day, and it’s awesome.'”
Romano’s theory isn’t without merit. Recent studies have shown that consumers who test-drive electric vehicles are more likely to purchase them, and the Ford F-150 Lightning is expected to have the lowest operating costs of any Ford F-Series pickup. It’s a fact that EVs have far fewer moving components than ICE-powered vehicles, which means more uptime for fleet owners and less maintenance and fuel costs since electricity is cheaper than gas.
Since the Lightning was revealed last month, Ford has secured over 70,000 reservations for the EV pickup, which has drawn considerable interest. The same is true of the forthcoming GMC Hummer EV, Rivian R1T, and Tesla Cybertruck – the latter of which has reportedly attracted over a million reservations since it was revealed last year. Thus, if Romano’s prediction comes true, it may not be much longer before we see an electric truck revolution take place in the U.S.
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Comments
I don’t really see the infrastructure in place to go into full scale EV’s yet. I have seen a couple places that have numerous charging stations but with a wait time of 20 minutes to charge I can see cars lined up for miles.
How are poor people going to afford one?
What about the idiots that think they can get where they are going but miscalculate and get stuck along the road?
Perhaps if I could get those things answered and see more progress towards them I might feel a bit better about all the hoopla about EV’s.
You forget that it was Henry Ford who made the Model T cheap enough to sell to poor people over 100 years ago. Ford will electrify all of its products and that will lower prices soon enough.
As for infrastructure, everyone has electricity now yet no one gets gas that easily. Look at history and see that electric cars were easier to charge and operate, but ironically it was the electric motor as the starter that made gas cars easier to operate. Electric vehicle will displace gas vehicles by 2040, and we are halfway there.
Halfway there ? Elaborate for me please. Are you a politician? No one gets gas hat easily? I knew when states started legalizing pot be were in big trouble.
Sorry, I can’t swallow your spit.
Alot of talk like the Bronco over a year no vehicle.That electric truck is so good ,and all electric, it will be cheaper and quicker to call UBER!
It takes 3 years, minimum to design a new vehicle. The average is 5 years.
UBER will be all electric soon.
If “range anxiety” is an actual thing, they do still sell portable gas-powered generators; I priced a 9kw generator at under $1,000. A standard EV battery requires 30 kWh per 100 miles. A little research could find a generator that would fit in a vehicle trunk. Or, trailers are still a thing, small trailer plus generator shouldn’t be so much weight to haul.
There is an answer to every problem. The question is whether the solution is worth the price.
Ford does sell hybrid trucks. Generator is built in!
Time after time I read comments about range anxiety and the lack of charging infrastructure. I am sure almost every home has electrical outlets outdoors, in garages or reasonably available to their parking spaces. This is basic charging infrastructure already in place. Trailer/RV parks have had these for years.
Ford EVs come with a portable interface kit that has the J1772 connector/plug, 20 foot cable and two adapter plugs for connecting to either a 110v or 220v outlet. This is like ICE vehicle owners always having a spare gas pump at home (or any other building).
No need to worry about finding an open gas station after hours like the fuel anxiety ICE owners experience at night on any Sunday or holiday.
EV buyers should prepare to spend a bit of money to allow for the best charger plug and location at home but can recoup this cost through fuel purchase savings as I have.
Also, government needs to ante up with programs or tax deductions to help build charging infrastructure funded by the carbon tax revenues.
Finally, existing petroleum corporations and their investors need to open their eyes and wallets to the potential for new business as gasoline and diesel sales decline. Fast chargers can replace gas pumps at fuel plazas where there is food and comfort stops. Fuel safety considerations may not allow them to be placed side by side but smart design and installation can fix that.
Mhmm. Charge Point CEO is wrong.
EVs are coming, make now mistake. Will the infrastructure catch up? Probably not. Politicians are pushing EVs HARD but are dragging their collective feet on charging capabilities.