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2022 Ford F-150 EV
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By Jimmy Dinsmore Mar 10 2020 - 3:07pm

Searching For The Ideal Buyer For An Electric Ford F-150

An all-electric Ford F-150 is coming. Exactly who the targeted buyer is among the unanswered questions that Ford must address before launching.
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As I reported last week, the all-electric Ford F-150 is happening. So, first and foremost, everyone needs to not gripe about it, or complain or throw around their protest of how a truck can’t be powered by a quiet, electric motor. Because it can and it will.

And also, put the electric F-150 in the same category as when your mom made you try a vegetable. You might think you don’t like asparagus, but once you try it, you might really like it. That analogy applies to an EV F-150 too. Try it, you might like it.

I say all this as one of the biggest complainers about the Mustang Mach-E. As you’ve seen here at Torque News, I’ve blasted Ford for putting the Mustang name on the all-electric four-door crossover. But, my complaint was never about the EV powertrain of the Mach E, it was just about the name Mustang being used. In fact, I wrote some praise about the performance of the Mach E once I got to experience it.

I’m sure I’d feel the same way about an electric Ford F-150. I’ve compiled a list of what I believe Ford needs to do to make an EV F-150 successful.

2022 Ford F-150 EV Towing Capacity
The “promotional” video of the prototype EV F-150 towing more than a million pounds shows that Ford understands that the customer will demand high towing capacity. Obviously it won’t have a million pound towing capability but if it could stay at or exceed 8,000 pounds or more, it will impress truck buyers.

And the big concern is if it can tow that amount what kind of range will it get? And that leads me to my next point.

What Range Will the All Electric Ford F-150 Have?
Nobody knows that answer and Ford is staying quiet. I reached out to Ford to answer this and got shot down, as I expected. There’s wide speculation that the range will be anywhere from 300 miles to 400 miles.

But if that is not towing and non payload range, what will happen to the range when the truck is actually put to work? It’s likely to go down. And if so, by how much? I saw speculation on a truck forum that with payload or simply towing that the expected range could drop as much as 50 percent. That seems like a lot, but who knows.

Advice to Ford, make sure you get the range in a comfort zone for those who would be pulling a boat or camper to a weekend destination that might be a couple hundred miles away. Range anxiety is a real issue for consumers new to the EV world. It would sure be an issue for truck buyers too.

How Long Will It Take To Recharge An Electric F-150
This is a common concern and question I see on forums amongst first-time EV buyers. And it certainly will be a question potential EV F-150 buyers would have. Charging times vary based upon what level charging station you have access to.

Homes can be equipped with quick charge stations or you can charge an EV without any real setup using your home’s current 110 outlet, but a full recharge could take more than 12 hours. That isn’t a practical expectation.

If someone was towing and travelling to a destination, they’d need access to a supercharging station which could only take a couple hours for a full charge. But again, there would be apprehension about that and adding time to a trip would be a negative to owning such an electric pickup truck.

So for Ford, I’d say, make sure the infrastructure is in place and charging stations are ample, or that prospective EV F-150 buyers have the right charging set up at their homes.

What Will The 2022 Ford EV F-150 Cost?
Price is always the sticking point. Today’s trucks are outrageously priced as my colleague Marc Stern wrote about. New trucks, when well-appointed can exceed $50-60,000 or even higher. Generally, EV technology is expensive and adds an easy $10,000 to the bottom line.

Advice to Ford, if you really want to win over a truck consumer who might be on the fence about an EV F-150, make the price competitive. An estimated MSRP range of $30-40,000 would be ideal. But note, truck buyers like luxury and nice touch points, so don’t skimp on the interior quality.

To find all Ford F-150 content simply check out the F-150 page on Torque News where I write content regularly. And as, always, leave comments or let me know your thoughts. Would you consider buying an electric F-150? Why or why not?

Jimmy Dinsmore has been an automotive journalist for more than a decade and been a writer since the high school. His Driver’s Side column features new car reviews and runs in several newspapers throughout the country. He is also co-author of the book “Mustang by Design” and “Ford Trucks: A Unique Look at the Technical History of America’s Most Popular Truck”. Also, Jimmy works in the social media marketing world for a Canadian automotive training aid manufacturing company. Follow Jimmy on Facebook, Twitter, at his special Ford F-150 coverage on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read the most of Jimmy's stories by searching Torque News Ford for daily Ford vehicle report.

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Comments

Dale Schwab wrote on March 10, 2020 - 3:49pm
beautiful truck, I am a die hard Ford truck man, price has always been a concern, as i think they are getting a little out of control, but if they can get 300 to 400 miles a charge for most people that drive everyday it would be perfect, maybe not for your work truck pulling from job site to job site
DeanMcManis wrote on March 11, 2020 - 12:55pm
I think that Ford has some time to sort out who their EV F150 customers are, because it will probably at least be another year or two before the EV F150 is available to buy. The Mach-E is due later this year, and the GT version (1/3rd of pre-orders) will be out in 2021. Since the average pickup truck goes for about $48K I suspect that is where the EV F150 prices will start. Ford bought Rivian, and has said that they will be using their EV technology for upcoming EV Lincoln models, but the original Rivian R1T starting price was $69K. They have since back peddled on that price after Tesla's Cybertruck was announced with a starting price of $40K, saying that the $69K price would have additional options included. Two points for the EV F150 are that first the next new electrified F150 is confirmed to be a plug in hybrid model, which will fill the EV gap for the next 1-2 years while Ford ramps up the production EV F150. Secondly, the Mach-E pre-orders were capped because battery production was limited to 40,000 vehicles.Tesla has Gigafactories where they are ramping up battery production, and GM and VW have similar mega battery production factory plans. So having adequate supplies for Ford EVs will need to get sorted out first. For the charging situation I don't think that it will be an issue for most EV owners. The press always talks about long at home recharge times, but most people drive less than 40 miles a day, and they can easily recharge overnight even using 110V power. Plus 220V chargers are relatively inexpensive and cut that charge time in half. I don't think that getting used to eating asparagus is a good analogy. More like getting used to eating a new ice cream flavor, that soon becomes your new favorite. One big reason why Tesla has the highest customer satisfaction is because electric vehicles are fun and make driving easier by skipping gas stations, and maintenance service visits. The F150 is not only Ford's top selling vehicle, it is the best selling vehicle overall in the U.S. So the EV F150 doesn't have to be a perfect replacement for all truck buyers. They only need to be a good fit for 5% of F150 buyers to be a great sales success.
Jimmy Dinsmore wrote on March 12, 2020 - 8:25am
Great points Dean!
William wrote on March 12, 2020 - 7:20am
I would happily buy an electric Ford F150.
Keith wrote on March 12, 2020 - 7:21am
Those of us beating around suburbia an electric truck is an absolute win. Doing 30-40 miles a day.
Jimmy Dinsmore wrote on March 12, 2020 - 8:23am
Yes, the average driver logs less than 60 miles a day. Range anxiety feels natural, but it's really not.
Derek wrote on March 12, 2020 - 7:21am
If the range and towing are there. I am down.
Jimmy Dinsmore wrote on March 12, 2020 - 8:24am
I'm confident there will be good standard range. What I'm unsure of is what happens to range when you're towing. That is TBD.
Geoffrey wrote on March 12, 2020 - 7:22am
The energy density of Li-Ion batteries makes these not great for towing, but there will be a market for them if the cost is competitive, and doesn't look like a four-year-old designed it.
Jimmy Dinsmore wrote on March 12, 2020 - 8:23am
A four year old designed heh? I sense you're talking the Tesla truck there.
Adam wrote on March 12, 2020 - 7:23am
The electric Ford F-150 pickup truck might be a better option for some consumers but I plan to ride good old combustion till the last gas station shuts down. Love the sound of it. Worth the gas to enjoy my ride.
JeremyK wrote on March 12, 2020 - 1:19pm
Towing range shouldn't be the deciding factor for most customers. If towing is your top priority and you do it all the time...then by all means, purchase the gas or diesel version. For the other 50+% of truck drivers that use their truck for commuting with the occasional trip to Lowes, or camping trip, etc the standard 300-400 miles or range will be plenty. Payload and increased rolling resistance is a much smaller factor than aero drag from pulling a camper or utility trailer. When you add extra batteries, you're forced to changed the entire architecture of the vehicle, you've screwed yourself of other compelling innovations that could be offered and would potentially be more valuable to the average consumer (under bed storage just as one example).
Jimmy Dinsmore wrote on March 13, 2020 - 8:25am
I would wager that most truck consumers rarely tow, so I would agree.
Ken T wrote on May 22, 2021 - 7:34pm
I’ve been driving F150s for almost 40 years. My ‘07, ‘11, and 2016 were never in the shop a single time for repairs. I don’t drive a truck hard. My 2016 2.6 Turbo is almost five years old and just crossed 33 thousand miles. I’d love to have the electric F150 but driving cross country would be a nightmare if you had to stop every 300 miles or so for a two hour charge. I’ll probably consider the hybrid instead. We’ve been very happy with two Toyota hybrids but no way am I switching away from F150s.