Rivian electric truck

[MrH]

I think they're smart to target SUVs and trucks though.  Lots more money in that segment than others.

[r0tor]

Ford has dropped the ball on tech in general - leaning on turbos, ignoring EVs and autonomous driving - but Ford knows that trucks buyers are the most loyal.

IF this makes it to production, it'll go like Tesla - some initial sales success but for the market at large, it won't mean much (it'll be too expensive and too untenable of a business venture).

The truck market is already ridiculously overpriced.  There will be little price disadvantage to electric.

[Payman]

The truck market is already ridiculously overpriced.  There will be little price disadvantage to electric.

This, plus the sheer volume of fleet sales. It's appealing to large companies, visually and financially, to install charging facilities and run an electric truck fleet.

[GoCougs]

By definition, the truck market is not overpriced - lots of competitors - lots of alternatives (since most truck buyers don't use their trucks as trucks) - lots of volume. It's a very efficient segment (i.e., pricing is spot on).

But 180 kW-hr battery? 4 motors? Nah, that's a $100k vehicle. There are cheaper versions, but anything less than a base MSRP of $75k seems virtually impossible and that's were only the very highest-end current 1/2 tons top out.

[r0tor]

Trucks prices are being protected by the chicken tax.  A damn F150 can now hit $72k and an average 4x4 truck is in the $50s... all with a large profit margin

Fat prices and terrible fuel mileage combine for a prime electric takeover

[GoCougs]

Huh? Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra have been on the market for 15+ years at equivalent prices. Plus don't forget the small/medium size truck market.

Lots of choices, lots of alternatives, yet, here we are. "Overpriced" is an impossibility.

A $75k-$100k electric truck is a non threat to that market.

[AutobahnSHO]

People will buy them though.

[r0tor]

Huh? Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra have been on the market for 15+ years at equivalent prices. Plus don't forget the small/medium size truck market.

Lots of choices, lots of alternatives, yet, here we are. "Overpriced" is an impossibility.

A $75k-$100k electric truck is a non threat to that market.

They are forced to be built in the US to avoid the chicken tax...  Or have the chicken tax applied which increases the price.  There are a hoard manufacturers that would enter the market if the tax didn't exist.

[GoCougs]

They are forced to be built in the US to avoid the chicken tax...  Or have the chicken tax applied which increases the price.  There are a hoard manufacturers that would enter the market if the tax didn't exist.

So who else builds full-size pickup trucks in the world? (No one.)

Even if they did, it'd go just about how it went with the Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra - decent product but no notable sales volume.

If it's not a Chevy, Ford or Dodge/Ram, it's not gonna sell worth a damn, esp. if it's vastly more expensive.

[Soup DeVille]

Toyota Hilux?

[GoCougs]

Toyota Hilux?

Is this a challenge to me?

The current Hilux is smaller than the Tacoma (i.e., nowhere near full size), plus no V8.

[12,000 RPM]

Toyota Hilux?

Compact trucks, foreign or domestic, died in the US for a reason. I have no idea what that reason is, but it was pervasive enough to kill off the whole segment.

As for trucks being overpriced, lol. I do think the impending credit crunch will be a reckoning of biblical proportions for the industry. Profits will plummet either by sales volume, or more likely incentives at levels we've never seen. But in the medium term they'll be fine

[Morris Minor]

Compact trucks, foreign or domestic, died in the US for a reason. I have no idea what that reason is, but it was pervasive enough to kill off the whole segment.

As for trucks being overpriced, lol. I do think the impending credit crunch will be a reckoning of biblical proportions for the industry. Profits will plummet either by sales volume, or more likely incentives at levels we've never seen. But in the medium term they'll be fine

This is a mystery to me too.
People have insane love for their old S-10s, Rangers and B2000s. Kids love them - they're ridiculously customizable. And they're a great proposition for people who just want a bit of practicality without having to have a chrome-laden Tonka Toy giant occupying all of their garage space.

[r0tor]

So who else builds full-size pickup trucks in the world? (No one.)

Even if they did, it'd go just about how it went with the Nissan Titan and Toyota Tundra - decent product but no notable sales volume.

If it's not a Chevy, Ford or Dodge/Ram, it's not gonna sell worth a damn, esp. if it's vastly more expensive.

Why not talk to a long list of compact trucks we don't get offered... Offerings from Mercedes, VW, Fiat, Renault, Mitsubishi, Toyota, ect

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pickup_trucks

[r0tor]

This is a mystery to me too.
People have insane love for their old S-10s, Rangers and B2000s. Kids love them - they're ridiculously customizable. And they're a great proposition for people who just want a bit of practicality without having to have a chrome-laden Tonka Toy giant occupying all of their garage space.

No mystery... When there are obstacles to competition, there is no real need for the big 3 to produce trucks that have smaller profit margins

[giant_mtb]

I could count on one hand the number of full size pickups I saw on the streets of Quito while I was there.  I'd need hundreds of hands to count all the Hiluxes, D Max's, et. al.

[Laconian]

I thought the Chicken Tax was a pretty good explanation about why there's no competition in the small truck sector. We can't import small trucks without ridiculous tariffs,

[GoCougs]

Why not talk to a long list of compact trucks we don't get offered... Offerings from Mercedes, VW, Fiat, Renault, Mitsubishi, Toyota, ect

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pickup_trucks

Why? Americans don't want small trucks, and have only a mediocre appetite for mid-size trucks. That's the market speaking, not taxes.

[GoCougs]

This is a mystery to me too.
People have insane love for their old S-10s, Rangers and B2000s. Kids love them - they're ridiculously customizable. And they're a great proposition for people who just want a bit of practicality without having to have a chrome-laden Tonka Toy giant occupying all of their garage space.

People love 'em, sure, for say $2000 - $5000, but paying say $25k - $30k for them new? Tough sell. The market would rather spend ~$5k more to get a lot more truck, or $10k to get like 3x more truck.

[2o6]

Also, a lot of those "compact" trucks aren't even small!

A real "compact" truck would be something like the coupe-utilities that they sell in Mexico et al. Basically a subcompact car with a bed.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Americas need trucks to pull their houses and live like nomadic tribes of outlaws in campers. A private residence is not a smart investment because of mortgage interest, property taxes, oppressive property use laws, and trashy neighbors with old and disgusting pickup trucks in their front yards. How far can a Riverinian electric truck pull a 5000# camper with fat dogs riding in the back? 23 miles.

[AutobahnSHO]

Why? Americans don't want small trucks, and have only a mediocre appetite for mid-size trucks. That's the market speaking, not taxes.

They want them, just not at the price the manufacturers can make them for in the US. Government interference messes up the import market, so.....

[Laconian]

A cheap little truck that cost the same as a Civic would sell really well among small businesses, landscapers, etc. It wouldn't even have to be AWD/4WD.

They claimed that the little Ford Transit Connect van wouldn't sell in the USA, it's for tiny European streets, etc. but it obliterated the truck-based van competition.

Average Muricans who use quad cab trucks as ersatz luxury sedans obviously wouldn't bite.

[giant_mtb]

Also, a lot of those "compact" trucks aren't even small!

A real "compact" truck would be something like the coupe-utilities that they sell in Mexico et al. Basically a subcompact car with a bed.

For real. New mid-sizers look and feel as big as a full sizer from a couple generations ago.

[2o6]

A cheap little truck that cost the same as a Civic would sell really well among small businesses, landscapers, etc. It wouldn't even have to be AWD/4WD.

They claimed that the little Ford Transit Connect van wouldn't sell in the USA, it's for tiny European streets, etc. but it obliterated the truck-based van competition.

Average Muricans who use quad cab trucks as ersatz luxury sedans obviously wouldn't bite.

Like this

[Laconian]

That's all most people need, really.

[FoMoJo]

Like this

What is it?

[Eye of the Tiger]

What is it?

That is an autonomous crate of vegetables.

[93JC]

What is it?

A Volkswagen Saveiro, based on the super-cheap VW Gol (not Golf: Gol); made in Brazil. Remember the VW Fox, from the late '80s to early '90s? This is a pickup version of the Fox's successor 20 years down the line.

[FoMoJo]

A Volkswagen Saveiro, based on the super-cheap VW Gol (not Golf: Gol); made in Brazil. Remember the VW Fox, from the late '80s to early '90s? This is a pickup version of the Fox's successor 20 years down the line.

I see.  I looks nice and simple.