this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2023
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Electric Vehicles

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Will BEV adoptions lead to more ICE pickups? (self.evs)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by AA5B to c/evs
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In the US a decade or two ago, we enacted regulations to increase the efficiency of passenger vehicles. However larger vehicles typically needed for commercial and farming uses were exempt. Now we see the results of that as reverse incentive, where trucks became more common, even for simple commuting

Will the same happen with BEVs, a reverse incentive that increases the use of trucks?

I just read an opinion piece (lost just as quickly, sorry) that discussed issues with sales of EV pickups at GM and Ford. They made a compelling argument that EVs still have weaknesses as work trucks and point to the success of Rivian as a recreational truck. Certainly arguments against EV pickups do center on those weaknesses, even for scenarios where it wouldn’t apply (how many truck owners actually tow regularly?). So, as BEVs rapidly take over the car and crossover markets, and the holdouts have fewer choices of ICE cars, will they increasingly turn to trucks?

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[–] AA5B 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I partly agree with the person, in that there are some tasks that batteries will just not scale to. We will need hydrogen infrastructure, just not for passenger vehicles. It remains to be seen where that line is.

If you use a pickup for true truck activities, such as towing, I can see the argument that it drastically cuts the range of today’s BEV pickups. However I’d argue it’s still fine for a good portion of those and batteries will improve much faster than we could ever build on it hydrogen infrastructure.

Imagine if the Toyota announcement is true. We could be just 3 years away from solid state batteries that could charge in minutes. Then the towing argument against BEV pickups goes away

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I'm wondering if one day we will see a hydrogen auxiliary add-on for say duly trucks or like an F-350 for towing. Like as part of a $20,000 tow option. It seems like it would be a reasonable way to allow long distance towing without a huge battery weight penalty.

It's still a pretty niche market however, compared to the overall truck market... And since the market isn't rational (it manufacturers are having a hell of a time actually producing electric trucks at scale in the first place), it may never actually happen.