Did you read the news of why electric pickups are failing?

S

Saddle Tramp

Moderator
Jill did a great job on this question. Automotive News did a nice "skimming" of the question by hitting the basic numbers, but Jill hit deep with the daily costs, infrastructure, and the psychology of the average full sized truck buyer. That last bit is the biggest part of the entire problem to me.

Here's the article.
Why are electric pickup trucks failing?

I have heard many times, over the years, that full sized pickup truck buyers are the most conservative buyers out there. They hate big changes. They hate tech they feel is unnecessary. They want to be able to fix the truck themselves.

I also heard one big truck guy just rip on a teen that bought his first new truck that was a compact. The big truck guy was a contractor.
  • "Does it have a V-8?"
  • "nope"
  • "Ftt! Does it have an eight foot bed?"
  • "nope"
  • "Ftt! Is it four wheel drive?"
  • "nope"
  • "Ftt! Is it a dually?"
  • "nope"
  • "That's not a truck. It's a toy!"
The nontruck was a Ford Ranger Splash and the teen drove it for many years.

This is also why I am slightly more optimistic about the Slate doing better. Jill hit on this too. It's not a contractor special, it's an urban homesteader or hobbyist's helper. In this demographic I think it will do well if they can keep it in the cheaper end of the Maverick's price range. We shall see.
 
I think the truck guy attitude is the biggest reason why full size truck EVs won't sell. I think they could work in midsize or compact trucks, but the full-size truck guy is just different. I understand why automakers wanted to start here (to make the most money), but it was certainly a tactical error.
 
I used you figures on the CT and Lightning to get roughly a 16% ratio from reservations to purchases and used that to extrapolate potential sales for the Slate given all the reports of "over 100,000 reservations". If they get 200,000 reservations then the estimate for purchase will be 32,000. I don't know if that's enough to sustain a company. I think they will need at least a 25% purchase ratio.

We'll see 🙂
 
Read Jill's article finally. I have to agree with her points for the vast majority of truck owners. We are different. We're very stubborn and stuck in the past. Stuff like "only a diesel with 8ft bed will work" type of thinking.

I personally don't mind the idea of it, for me, it's simply capabilities. The only real reason I own a truck anymore is the 4-5 times a year I tow 5k pounds on a 1k mile round trip. The 9-10hr 500 mile drive is long enough as it is, no way am I going to deal with even longer fuel-ups. Cost is harder to figure out between all the incentives and future maintenance costs plus depreciation. I think the nod still goes to ICE but that is changing.
 
Dusdaddy said:
Read Jill's article finally. I have to agree with her points for the vast majority of truck owners. We are different. We're very stubborn and stuck in the past. Stuff like "only a diesel with 8ft bed will work" type of thinking.

I personally don't mind the idea of it, for me, it's simply capabilities. The only real reason I own a truck anymore is the 4-5 times a year I tow 5k pounds on a 1k mile round trip. The 9-10hr 500 mile drive is long enough as it is, no way am I going to deal with even longer fuel-ups. Cost is harder to figure out between all the incentives and future maintenance costs plus depreciation. I think the nod still goes to ICE but that is changing.
Click to expand...

All good points I'm in a similar boat except towing more frequently less miles in one trip. Not to mention the cost of adding a level 2 charger at my home which I'm somewhat set up for but it would still be $$. I also think the biggest hit EV has taken recently is the huge reliability issues. I was really interested in the rivian truck I think it's the best looking and overall the best but, I haven't looked at it in a while, there initial and overall reliability scores have been at the absolute bottom of most rankings for a while and unfortunately I know someone that owns one and it's just been hell.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top