Slate Auto debuted its all-new compact pickup this past April, ahead of its planned launch in 2027. However, what differentiates the new Slate truck (which can also be transformed into an SUV) from the rest of the pack is the fact that it’s intended to be a bare-bones and simplistic vehicle with few frills and a low price tag, albeit one that also offers customers an array of customization options. Ford is working on its own affordable EV pickup at the moment as well, but it doesn’t seem as if Slate Auto brass views that as a competitor, either.
“I don’t really see what we’re doing as competition with the rest of the industry, because our approach is so different,” Jeremy Snyder, Slate’s chief commercial officer, said during a recent interview, according to InsideEVs. “I think the major differentiator [of the Slate truck] is that it’s personalizable…People want to be unique. They want to be their own. They want to show off their style in their vehicle, and we’re facilitating that in a far more streamlined way than the industry ever has.”
Snyder added that views Slate as being in a class of its own, and not something that should be compared to what other automotive manufacturers – including Ford – are producing at the moment. “I mean, all cars today are built for the top 30 percent of the market, right? And [Slate] is so focused on the other 70 percent of the market, [other manufacturers] aren’t really building for it,” the exec said.
Though both the forthcoming Slate truck and low-cost Ford mid-size EV hauler will undoubtedly be considered competitors given their place in the market, these comments aren’t exactly out of left field. In fact, Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital and design officer, recently said that the automaker’s future EV pickup “will not be a stripped-down, old-school vehicle” like Slate’s, and it will also only be offered in a more spacious four-door guise rather than a small two-door regular cab model.
Not much of a looker, but it runs and drives.
The previous owner sunk $310k into the build.
Bronco and Bronco Sport moved more than 39K units.
With an estimated 400 miles of range and a $60k price tag.
A key cost savings measure for the automaker.
View Comments
Different? It looks more Ford than Fords!
It does. Looks like a first-gen Ranger, the vehicle that the Maverick SHOULD have emulated. But I honestly doubt that either this or the Ford EV will sell like hotcakes, hopefully ending this EV nonsense once and for all.
I'm with you on the EV nonsense - not so much on what the Mav "should have been" mostly bc the Mav has blazed a new market. A well-equipped, comfortable and very capable small pickup that has sold like hotcakes.
The $20k Slate appeals to me, and I put down the $50 deposit for one. I see it as a "just for fun" vehicle for fishing, bags of mulch, and other light duty exercises. The removable rear window strongly appeals to me because I like the open air feeling with the crank windows down and with a roof over my head to keep the sun off. The lack of electronics I find appealing also. It's a glorified golf cart that you can take on the road. That said, getting it new just under $20k was a big part of the appeal. Without the tax credit, I doubt I will get one for $28k.
This is what you say to investors if you're "Slate’s chief commercial officer" rather than "Crap, I think our investors are hosed."
I am quite pleased that the $7,500 subsidy/tax credit is coming to an end.
We neanderthals that continute to cause the icebergs to melt also pay taxes to maintain the roads and bridges through purchase of liquids as a result of dinosaur degradation.
Overweight electric vehicles ruin the roads at a faster rate than my 4,000 lb dream.
Carry on!
(continue)
Cheers!!!