Today’s announcement marks a small but important shift from previous announcements this month, in which Ford will electrify their fleet and add a hybrid option for the F-series. While this is a very exciting announcement for the truck world, there were very few details, so there are more questions than answers at this point. Will it be limited production (e.g. a “compliance” truck)? What range will they offer? Will it be on a new “skateboard” platform? We have precisely zero answers to any of these questions.

Electric Truck Startups Are Raking in Pre-Orders

The demand for electric trucks and SUVs is in a word, unprecedented. For example, just this month an 18 month old startup with a) zero automotive history, b) no working prototype, and c) a promo video full of stock footage raised $1 million in pre-orders. That company, Atlis Motors, essentially crowd-funded their first prototype from nearly 2,500 investors. In the automotive world, this is unheard of. While their truck design is beautiful and the specs are impressive, Atlis is a loooong way from production.

In the meantime, a company who is much further along, Workhorse, has secured 6,000 pre-orders valued at $300 million for its W-15 plug-in hybrid pickup. For a truck that starts at $52k and offers just 80 miles of all-electric range, it seems to underscore a point that Ford has been missing (until now): Demand for electric pickups is taking off.

Oh, and Bollinger reached 20,000 pre-orders in October, too.

Rivian hasn’t released their pre-order numbers, but I suspect it will be impressive.

Ford is Playing Catch Up But Could Deliver Big

Considering the attention and pre-orders garnered by Atlis, Workhorse, Rivian, and Bollinger, (not to mention Tesla’s yet to-be-released pickup), it’s no surprise Ford finally jumped into the all-electric fray. However, Ford has famously carved out a reputation for their lack of commitment to EVs. This is the company who, in my opinion, built the most uninspiring-looking EV / hybrid in history, the C-Max Energi. Despite it’s excellent ratings, it was a sales dud because it screamed “I wear white sock with green Tevas.” Long story short, Ford has a *lot* of convincing to do for EV community.

But, Ford has incredible engineering and manufacturing talent. They have capital. They have manufacturing facilities. Their design aesthetic is quite appealing these days. And perhaps most importantly, they have an incredibly loyal customer base. Ford may be playing catch up in the electric segment, but they’re the undisputed pickup leader. Now that they’ve decided to enter the electric truck fray, I’m very excited to see what they can do.

What do you think? Will they change the market for pickups? Or will this just be another C-Max?