Electric Pickup Truck Category Grows, With Even More Machines on the Horizon
The Badger from Nikola is one of several all-electric pickup trucks due out later this year.
Photo Courtesy of Nikola
With all the new electric pickup models on the way, you might think the days of the gasoline- and diesel-powered work trucks are numbered. While the end is not yet in sight for fossil fuel trucks, battery-electric and hydrogen-fuel-cell pickups are going to become an increasing share of commercial fleets in the coming years.
In addition to their non-polluting powertrains, electric pickups offer fleet owners a number of practical advantages. These include lower operating costs-per-mile and reduced maintenance expenses as there are fewer moving parts. Add in additional lockable storage in the “frunk,” or front trunk (that's located where the fuel tank used to be), and the possibility to use the pickup’s battery pack are a power take-off in lieu of a generator on remote jobsites, and there are some potential benefits.
We've covered the soon-to-be launched battery-powered pickup offerings from Tesla, Bollinger and Rivian, but there are even more models due out from a whole host of upstart electric automakers. While not all of the electric pickups announced to date will make it to market, here are four announced models to keep an eye on.
Atlis is a startup working on a battery-electric pickup it calls the XT which should boast some impressive stats, including a range of up to 500 miles on the largest of several available battery packs. Like traditional pickups, the XT can be configured for a variety of tasks, with bed lengths of 6.5 ft or 8 ft and a tow rating of up to 20,000 lb with a conventional trailer and 35,000 lb using a fifth-wheel hitch. According to the manufacturer, a proprietary charger can to top off the battery pack in just 15 minutes. Price should be $45,000 when it goes on sale later this year.
Promoted as a luxury battery-electric pickup, the Alpha from Hercules sports a four-motor all-wheel drive system with 1,000 total hp, a 300-mile range and 12,500-lb towing capacity. Other practical details include a Wi-Fi hotspot, a 360° camera system and an inverter with 15-, 20- and 30-amp outputs. The company also promises the Alpha will be adaptable for autonomous driving and hydrogen fuel cell range-extender options. Deliveries are expected to start later this year.
One of the newest entrants in the electric pickup segment, Lordstown Motors' Endurance uses electric motors on each wheel to give it all-wheel-drive. Output is listed at 600 hp, range should be a respectable 250 miles and towing capacity is said to be 7,500 lb. It is expected to be the first all-electric pickup on the market, and be priced around $52,500 when it becomes available to fleet buyers later this year.
From the company working on developing hydrogen fuel cell-powered heavy trucks comes Nikola's Badger pickup. This full-size truck will be offered with a choice of battery-electric or fuel-cell power with ranges of 300 miles and 600 miles respectively. In either case, there’s a healthy 906 hp on tap and a towing capacity of 8,000 lb. The real attraction for contractors will be the 15-kW power supply the manufacturer says should produce enough electricity to run lights or power tools. The Badger is due out in September of this year.
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