The Real Reason No One Is Buying EV Trucks

Electric pickup trucks (EV Trucks) sound like they'd make a lot of sense: the Ford F-150 was the top-selling vehicle of 2023, with Tesla quickly catching up. So, combining America's favorite truck with the electric trend should be a no-brainer, right? Wrong. Follow along as we dig into why EV truck sales are stalling despite the hype. Discover the unexpected reasons why even giants like Ford, GM, and Rivian are struggling. And get a peek at a new player who could change the game.

[nathanbeaner]

There’s no way that guy was getting that many miles towing with a diesel. His numbers were way off.

[kensmithjr]

The battery replacement cost is misleading since they are very rarely replaced. How much does it cost to replace an ICE engine and transmission?

[jackcohen]

You've conducted a great interview and it was a pleasure being a part of it.

[iglespepito]

I work in sales in a Ford dealer in south Miami. EV sales are too specific to where you live. My dealer is in the suburbs, charging your EV at home is the most convenient/cheapest way to charge. We keep running out of stock on Lightings and Mach Es. Other Ford dealers in south Florida don’t have the same demand because their local customers have no way of charging their car and that’s when you see dealers have EVs with 300+ days on the lot. Meanwhile my store is buying lightings and Mach e from out of state ford dealers that can’t give them away

[TeslacamTales]

Another issue is the dealership markups for the F150 Lightning. I know a few people who purchased the vehicle at price listed on the website, but the sale is handed over to a dealership there were absurd fees and taxes added to the quoted price. They ended up canceling the orders.

[scottybrowndotca]

It's baffling to me that with all the fiscal and data resources these companies have no one saw this coming .. The first time I saw an F150 lightning demo I was like "this is amazing ..!!" then, as a VW enthusiast I also thought "I mean, I doubt I'd ever buy one" .. Then I saw the price (they're aroudn $100k here in Canada) and was like "Ok, so not only would I not likely ever buy one, I can't even think of a contractor I know who has that kind of money to throw at their fleet when a base model ICE truck is going to be around $55, 000 cheaper for a pretty well decked out truck .."

[BryceLovesTech]

My neighbor just bought an electric lightning and loves it. She’s done three 1000 mile trips in the last six months.

[jackcohen]

Thanks for interviewing me for the post. In addition to being an automobile dealer with 40+ years of experience, I am also an expert witness in the automotive industry. Unfortunately, these electric trucks are not what we've expected. Hoping they will improve in the future.

[Ferndalien]

BUT! But the advantage an electric powered truck has over an electric powered car is that you can carry around a portable emergency generator and extra gasoline in the box. In those times, which seem to happen too often to people reviewing electric trucks, when you can't find a working charger, and your battery is just about dead, that emergency generator could put just enough of a charge in your truck battery to get you another twenty or thirty miles down the road to where you CAN plug into a charger. It'll probably take you overnight, but you could do it. There's no space for that in any electric powered sedan that I've seen.
Perhaps, if truck dealers trying to unload electric powered pickups added a free portable generator and a five-gallon gasoline tank into the bargain, they might, maybe, sell a few.

[DagaenGolomb]

Most pickup drivers actually do not regularly use the bed or tow.

[TennesseeMatt]

It would be interesting to see the number of those Lightnings sold went to government fleets. There’s a BIG push for EVs in that sector. I work for a gov contractor and we’ve recently gotten several Lightnings. For our purposes they’ll do just fine, as we tend to drive them 50 miles or less per day, and we’re not concerned with battery replacement. They’ll get sold at auction before that’s an issue. It’s a nice truck, and fun to drive, but no way I’d ever own one personally.

[Woody_Florida]

If the numbers made sense with these ev trucks why wouldn't business owners and rural folks buy them? But if it costs twice as much to buy, has 1/4 the range, takes forever to refuel/recharge, repair and parts cost more than double and you can't find repair Well if it does not make dollars then it does not make sense.

[ari_young]

A couple of problems.

1. Price - Have you seen the price of a full size ICE truck, price isn't the issues for EV trucks they average well over 70K now.
2. Truck stuff - 70% of ICE truck owners never haul or tow anything, not even once

but that final point of contention is spot on, truck buyers aren't buying EVs and those that are aren't buying trucks

[jh]

Another reason is the timing, no fault of Ford. Record Inflation since 2020, compounding upon itself, outpacing wages, Americans don't have the purchasing power we used to.

[Sam-cud]

Also charging infrastructure!!! Knowing where to charge during a long road trip is a big issue for people not fimilar with EVs. Also alot of EV owners complain that chargers could be broken or occupied. I get annoyed when all the pumps are full and someone left their car at the gas pump to shop in the store...i would be furious if someone left their ev at the stall for hours

[s.n.]

Just discovered your channel. Great video! Subscribed.

[thestonegateroadrunner]

The real reason? Because charging takes too long. Plain and simple.
Once charging from 5% to 80% takes less than 5 minutes, then we are in business. Not one single second before.
When EVs will charge fast enough then weight and price becomes less important because when charging is fast, range is less of a problem and batteries can become much smaller, lighter and cheaper.
The whole fuss of the industry that the range (and thus weight and price) must increase to attract more buyers is BS, neglecting consumers' actual everyday needs.
Instead charging performance must drastically increase. With the current charging performances EVs are not fit for the requirements of the vast majority of consumers and are mostly expensive toys.

[filereaper]

Great video Tory, gets straight to the core points without any filler fluff.

[adrianevans]

I own a electric f150 and love it. It tows my boat and travel trailer. Best of all here in texas we have free electricity from 9pm to 7am. So after i get home from work or after a busy day on the weekend towing to boat or running errands, i plug it in and the next day i have a full tank of gas. Also during during the hurricane last month, my truck was powering my house for 3 days straight. Its channels like this that only show the negative aspects of evs that hurts the transition.

[duerf]

EV work trucks make no sense outside of a few niche uses and demand for those are few and far in between.