The Next Market Disruption for EVs: Pickup Trucks

The mistake the major car companies have made over the years is selling EVs to tree huggers. While there is nothing wrong with that per se, it is pretty much a niche market everywhere except California. What should have been done all along (and is finally happening) is marketing EVs based on the singular strengths of electric power trains. Tesla set the standard by building passenger vehicles that exploit the singular benefits of electric propulsion and are head & shoulders above the entire market segment, not just EVs. Now the attention is turning to trucks and that is where EVs can really shine.  

Unlike an internal combustion engine (or ICE) an electric motor has essentially no "torque curve" which is the narrow RPM band that is an ICE engine's power sweet spot. Electric motors can pull at 100% of their torque from 1 RPM all the way to their RPM limit - the motor can pull HARD right from the start. Anyone who has driven a well engineered EV can attest to the remarkable difference in acceleration compared to ICE vehicles.

With pickup trucks, this can add up to some insane towing capacities. Elon Musk has already teased that the upcoming Tesla pickup will boast a 300,000 pound towing capacity, and in the video linked below, Ford shows a prototype electric F-150 towing 1.25 million pounds. While these are boastful best-case numbers, it's clear that E-trucks will have significantly better power-to-weight and towing capacity numbers.

Granted, these vehicles are not yet on the market. Tesla and Rivian will be first (late 2019 and late 2020 respectively) with Ford - and presumably others - to follow. But it is clear that the pickup truck & large SUV segments are ripe for the same kind of disruption that is now starting to happen in the passenger vehicle segment.

#EVs #ElectricTrucks #Rivian #Tesla #Ford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXFHgoon7lg