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The Electric Truck Buying Guide: What You Need to Know
The revolution has arrived.
By
Chris Chin
GMC
Times are changing, and electric vehicles are becoming more popular than ever. Consumers seek relief from high gas prices, and automakers push to reduce private transportation's dependence on fossil fuels. While electrification efforts started with hatchbacks, sedans, and even crossover SUVs, it was only a matter of time before the wave hit one of America's best-selling vehicles: pickup trucks.
The idea of an all-electric pickup makes sense. The abundance of low-end torque and instantaneous output provided by electric motors seem like a perfect fit for utility vehicles, especially when towing or off-roading. But battery technology has been slow to develop. Pickup buyers have traditionally been resistant to comparatively modest changes. And automakers have struggled to find the right formula for electric trucks to work — until now.
Nearly every major truck manufacturer — and a few upstarts — are launching or planning to launch electric trucks in the coming years. Here's a handy guide to give you a heads up on coming to market.
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Rivian R1T (2022)
Will Sabel Courtney
Blazing the trails for the segment is the highly anticipated Rivian R1T. Following what seemed like ten tumultuous years, the California-based startup beat everyone else to the punch, offering the world’s first-ever all-electric pickup truck with adventurous branding, innovative storage options and (in top-spec) a quad-motor system pushing out more than 800 horsepower and 900 lb-ft of torque.
Heralded as one of the biggest automotive launches for the 2022 model year—both literally and figuratively—GMC’s Hummer EV SUT celebrates the return of the famed macho-truck brand. Revealed in October of 2020, it serves as the flagship model ushering in a whole new generation and lineup of all-electric luxury SUVs and trucks by General Motors.
Distinctive features include a 0-60 mph time of about 3 seconds in Watts to Freedom mode, the ability to crab walk and, yes, a tri-motor system putting out 1,000 horsepower and 1,200 lb-ft of torque.
One can’t discuss pickups without the Ford F-150, which also happens to be America’s best-selling vehicle, full-stop. The Dearborn-based automaker announced its efforts to make an all-electric F-150 in May of last year for a launch in spring 2022. Like the standard F-150, Ford will over the F-150 Lightning in various trims and configurations. And like the standard F-150, it will start under $40,000. It can also supply backup power to your home and has an expansive storage frunk.
Chevrolet is coming after the Ford F-150 Lightning with an electric version of the Silverado, the Silverado EV. Revealed at the 2022 Chicago Auto Show in prototype form, the Silverado EV looks a bit like a traditional Chevy truck (particularly the Avalanche). But under the hood sits a detuned version of the Ultium-supplied powertrain setup as the GMC Hummer EV SUT and a claimed range of up to 400 miles.
Eventually, the Silverado EV will match Ford with a starting price below $40,000. But for non-fleet buyers, the first-edition RST model will start at $105,000.
The GM electric pickup lineup would be complete without the Chevrolet Silverado’s more luxurious cousin, the GMC Sierra, getting the same treatment. And GMC has confirmed that is on the way with the GMC Sierra EV. We don't know whether the Sierra EV will track the Silverado EV's performance figures. But we do know it will use the same platform as the Silverado EV and Hummer EV SUT and get the brand's super-lux Denali treatment.
Toyota unveiled a lineup of 16 new electric vehicle concepts. One, tucked in the back corner, was the Pickup EV. We don’t know what Toyota is going to call this truck yet, and we don’t know whether the next-generation Tacoma will offer an electric variant. But if Toyota did announce it was building an electric Tacoma, it would be hard for a truck to look more like one than this. The looks, alas, are about all we know about Toyota's electric pickup so far.
