For truck lovers to accept the idea that a half tonne pick up could be powered by a battery alone, there are going to be some misconceptions out there that need to be dealt with. One misconception is that if it’s not powered by gas, there’s no way it would have enough of a towing capacity to meet the demands of trailer haulers, payload maximizers and anyone with a lot of gear to haul.
Well Ford has a message for anyone who thinks that an electric F-150 couldn’t possibly be built Ford Tough: “Hold my beer.”
F-150 BEV Concept. Photo: Ford Motor Company
Ford has made it known that it will launch an all electric F-150 that will sit in show rooms beside a hybrid F-150 that is set to be released next year. Well in a special press release sent out today, Ford revealed that a concept F-150 BEV is already built, and it has the capability to tow A LOT more than anyone would expect.
How much more is a lot? Try in excess of 1 MILLION POUNDS.
Impressive, right?! Well yes…but there is a catch. This little fine print detail was included in the release:
“The F-150 prototype is towing far beyond a production truck’s capacity in a one-time short event demonstration. Never tow beyond a vehicle’s towing capacities. Always consult the Owner’s Manual.”
So in other words, don’t start counting down the days until you can own a F-150 BEV and then start hauling rail cars around. The mere fact that this was possible is plenty of proof that a zero emission pick up can still meet all the needs of truck lovers – even if all you’re hauling is a boat or camper.
No details were released as to the timing of when the F-150 BEV will be launched for retail sale, but when details are known, we will post them on EnviroDad.com and all of our social media channels.
Nice demo and all but nothing new. This sort of thing has been done many years ago with gas-powered trucks towing things like jet airliners down a run-way. The real test when towing is how the system performs over long distances; up steep inclines; etc.
Seeing that BEV’s generally exhibit great torque characteristics; I would not expect any problems getting a heavy load to move. For a BEV, the question will be how range is affected and how they perform when hauling a heavy load up a steep and long mountain grade. We know that on average, most BEV’s have a fairly tight limit to total power output over a sustained period of time. The battery can deliver just so much current at one time without over-heating. Whereas most ICE engines can run at a very high power level for a longer period of time. Not predicting a failure to perform. Just pointing out the potential limitations.
Also, you will often find that with ICE powered vehicles, one of the main limitations to towing capacity is vehicle weight. If the trailer is too heavy in comparison to the towing vehicle, then traction and control become a problem. For instance my wife’s Honda Pilot has a higher towing capacity than my Saturn Vue. Both have the exact same 250 hp Honda engine but the heavier weight of the Pilot boosts the towing capacity by about 700 pounds.