Ford’s Ranger ute is expected to be the carmaker’s next electric pickup, and it could arrive sooner than many anticipated.
Overnight, Ford officially unveiled their F-150 Lightning truck (they added very little to what we already knew about it). What was interesting was CEO Jim Farley saying early work on another EV pickup is underway.
“We’re already pushing dirt down in Blue Oval City in Tennessee for another electric pickup truck that’s different than [the F-150 Lightning],” he said.
“[It] will be a next-gen electric truck, different from F-150 Lightning.”
Ford doesn’t actually say the next EV truck will be the Ranger. Still, the only other viable option is the Maverick, which is a new platform and won’t be updated for some time.
The fact Farley says “next-gen electric truck” suggests he is talking about an EV Ranger.
A fully electric Ranger will also establish the building blocks for an EV Volkswagen Amarok. VW and Ford have an alliance together, and the second-gen Amarok is basically a Ranger with a VW badge on the front.
VW is pushing ahead with plans for an EV Amarok, one based on their Ranger-based second-gen model. Thus, an EV Ranger continues to make sense.
Ford’s rapid EV growth is all part of the brand’s larger ambitions.
“We plan to challenge Tesla and all comers to become the top EV maker in the world,” Farley said.
“That’s something that no one would have believed just two years ago from us.”
