The Era Of Electric Pickups Is Almost Here

Worksport Ltd. WKSPWKSPW proudly revealed today that its advanced, industry-leading folding soft tonneau covers for light-duty trucks should be available in the next four weeks in a range of sizes and configurations adjusted for pickup trucks from nine automotive manufacturers. These manufacturers are Chevrolet, Jeep, Dodge, RAM, Ford Motor F, Nissan Motor Co Ltd NSANY, Honda Motor Co HMC, Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF and Toyota Motor Corporation. 

Specifics

General Motors GM-owned GMC is in for 14 covers as Worksport will be equipping the Chevrolet Silverado and Chevrolet Colorado trucks. Chevrolet just revealed it is launching a diesel-powered pickup Silverado along with its electric Silverado this year. On April 18th, General Motors confirmed that its entire EV lineup will be eligible for the full $7,500 tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. Moreover, General Motors will have the most EVs eligible for tax incentive.  is undergoing a serious EV transformation. General Motors has been speeding up its EV shift lately and diving deeper into the EV design process, but unlike its peers who are ratcheting production, GM is increasing production slowly and expecting significant U.S. production in the second half of the year.  

As for Stellantis NV STLA, Worksport will be making two covers for its Jeep Gladiator trucks, also two covers for Dodge Dakota trucks, and as many as 10 covers for RAM trucks. 

As for Ford, there will be 21 configurations for the F-150, America’s best-selling pickup, along with the Super Duty, Ranger, and Maverick models. 

As for Asia, Worksport has developed 11 distinct configurations for the Nissan Frontier and Titan brands. It will be providing 14 units to the Toyota Tundra and Tacoma ranges. Two will be developed for the Honda Ridgeline series while the Hyundai Santa Cruz is in for a distinctive cover which will help Hyundai achieve its aim to become one of the top three global EV manufacturers by the end of the decade. 

Stellantis-owned Jeep Unveiled Its 2024 Wrangler SUV

As part of the next stage of off-road sales battle with Ford Bronco, Jeep unveiled it is updating its flagship SUV with more capability, technology and features in an effort to attract off-road buyers with a plug-in hybrid electric version, or PHEV, that the brand named “4xe.” Jeep is playing an important part in electrification plans of its parent company Stellantis. Stellantis committed to spend more than $32.7 billion by the end of 2025 under its electrification strategy as it targets selling 5 million EVs by the end of the decade, with 50% of them being passenger vehicles and light duty trucks in the U.S. 

RAM’s Smaller Electric Pickup Possibly Underway

RAM CEO Mike Koval Jr. has hinted that a smaller electric truck could be on the way during the New York Auto Show, with the vehicle being crucial if the brand wishes to expand to Europe where larger vehicles don’t sell as well. 

Ford Continues On Its Electrification Path

On Tuesday, Ford revealed it is intensifying its electrification strategy as it will be committing about $1.3 billion to transform its Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada into a new electric vehicle hub, renaming it the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex. This will be the place where the Blue Oval will be building its next-generation EVs that are due to hit market around 2025. Moreover, it is the first time that Ford will be completely retooling a North American facility that produces ICE-powered vehicles into one that manufactures EVs. 

Nissan Unveiled An Electric SUV For The Chinese Market

On Monday, Nissan revealed its electric SUV concept at the Shanghai Auto Show named the Arizon. The vehicle is due to be built on a platform that Nissan is sharing with Renault SA RNLSY, Mitsubishi Corporation MSBHF and Infiniti.  Under its Nissan Ambition 2030 plan, the automaker has recently accelerated its EV efforts in Europe and Japan, but not in the U.S. 

Honda continues stepping up its EV efforts with SUVs

At the beginning of the year, Honda has launched a new business unit to accelerate its EV progress. Having lagged behind competitors, it is now stepping up its game as it revealed three new electric SUVs that will be launched in China next year. These two pre-production prototypes and one concept model were revealed at the Auto Shanghai 2023.

Toyota’s Leadership Shift Remains Committed To Hybrids

The newly elected CEO, Koji Sato, who took charge on April 1st has a hard task of taking Toyota to the electric era. Despite doubling its EV efforts, Toyota is not giving up on hybrids as it works on a new EV-only platform, according to Reuters. On April 7th, Reuters reported that the new leadership revealed ten new EV models are planned to be rolled out by 2026 along with the 2026 sales goal of 1.5 million EVs. This sales target is drastically different from Toyota’s global 2022 EV sales of 24,000 vehicles, which was a far cry from its total 2022 car sales that amounted to 10.5 million.

Electric Pickups Could Be The Game Changer In The EV Universe

Undoubtedly, China, Europe and the U.S. are powering ahead towards an EV future. The features of these vehicles are all about tech and software, while combustion engine vehicles were all about the mechanics and hardware. But, electric pickups go even further than that, perhaps because they promise to redefine the way we think about pickups in general. these vehicles promise to boost the self-confidence of inexperienced drivers as they will be the perfect companion both on and off-roads. With Worksport’s Terravis solar powered covers and COR portable battery, pickup drivers will be able to power remote locations and upgrade their camping trips in an emissions-free manner. Without components of internal combustion engines, pickups will offer massive storage spaces. Therefore, perhaps it’s not an overstatement to say that this year’s EV success rests on the shoulders of electric pickups as 2023 has already been dubbed as the year of the electric pickup and for good reason. 

DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investing advice.