Electric Ford F-150 pick-up tows more than 500,000kg

Ford has shown off the future of electric utes - and it looks strong.

The Blue Oval showed off a prototype of its forthcoming electric F-150 in a promotional video this week, towing more than 500,000kg. Linda Zhang, the F-150 chief engineer, hooked up a battery-powered F-150 to 10 double-decker cargo train carriages and pulled it more than 300-metres; the length of 42 F-150s (representing 42 years as America’s highest selling pick-up truck).

Ford then loaded all 42 of those petrol-powered pick-ups onto the train, taking its weight beyond 566,900kg and had the electric F-150 prototype tow the train again. Don’t expect a 500,000kg towing capacity on the production version though, with a disclaimer in the video stating the “F-150 all-electric prototype is towing far beyond any production truck’s published capacity in a one-time short demonstration event”.

Nevertheless, the publicity stunt appears designed to proactively establish the electric F-Series as just as tough and capable as its gas-guzzling siblings, well before it hits showrooms. Ford hasn’t even confirmed when the electric F-Series will go on sale, but it’s likely to be sometime before 2022, as that’s when the Blue Oval has promised to have 16 fully-electric vehicles added to its roster.

Ford is getting serious about electric pick-ups, not only developing the new F-Series but also investing more than $700 million in start-up Rivian. The would-be Tesla rival has made a splash with the Rivian RT1 and RS1 electric ute and SUV prototypes, announcing plans to sell the two models globally, including Australia.

Ford Australia has previously told CarsGuide that it is open to offering the F-150 locally, as long as it can be built in right-hand drive.

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