Ford's electric plans don't include heavy-duty trucks, company president says

Battery-powered F-150 and Transit van are on the way

Ford is going big on electrics, but not big electric trucks. At least not yet.

Kumar Galhotra, Ford president, Americas & International Markets Group, told a Credit Suisse forum on Monday that “at the moment, we do not have any plans to go into heavy-duty with battery-electric vehicles."

Ford will introduce an all-electric light-duty F-150 pickup in the coming years and is scheduled to unveil a battery-powered version of its Transit commercial van on Nov. 12, but a zero-emissions F-Series Super Duty (F-250, F-350, F-450) has not been announced.

"Our goal is to build a profitable electric vehicle portfolio," Ford CFO John Lawler added, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"To do that, we need to leverage our strengths and the scale that we have. We're being very strategic about the platforms that we choose."

ELECTRIC F-150 WILL BE THE MOST POWERFUL MODEL

Unlike the upcoming GMC HUMMER EV pickup, which will be built on a dedicated electric vehicle chassis that will later spawn other models across GM’s brands, the electric F-150 and Transit will share their platforms with internal combustion engine models.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
F FORD MOTOR CO. 13.28 +0.21 +1.61%

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The average transaction price across Ford’s entire lineup was over $45,000 in the third quarter, and Super Duty prices track higher than that, with some models reaching the $100,000 mark. Last week, Ford CEO Jim Farley told Ward’s Auto that Ford is focusing its electric vehicle efforts in the $20,000-to- $70,000 range for now.

Ford is launching its first purpose-built electric utility vehicle, the Mustang Mach-E, later this year, with prices starting from $42,895 to $60,500.