2017 Ford F150 Hybrid Pickup Spied - VIDEO

 

Ford is pushing the envelope with its Ecoboost-powered, aluminum-bodied F150 pickup- but it will really be headed into uncharted territory next year when the 2017 Ford F150 Hybrid PHEV finally reaches dealer showrooms.

That’s right, just a few short years since Bob Lutz quipped that the Chevy Volt should have been a truck instead of a car, one of the big truck makers is going to come to market with a for-real PHEV hybrid pickup. That’s a move that should allow its customers (both casual truck lovers and tradespeople) access into commercial and urban areas that are becoming more and more hostile to internal combustion engines, in general.

If Lutz is right and the market is there, he’ll be sorry. That’s because the ability to pick up a Ford F150 Hybrid pickup straight from the dealer will probably put Lutz’ Via Motors out of business!

You can check out the full Autoguide spy video of the upcoming Ford plug-in hybrid pickup, below. There’s no word, yet, on pricing and final specs, but expect a decent EV-only range and a combined fuel economy rating well into the 30s. Think that over, ponder what it means for the pickup market, then let us know what you think of Ford’s plans to electrify the classic American truck in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Ford F150 Hybrid Pickup Prototype on Video

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Source | Images: Autoguide, via Amped.

Ford to build hybrid F-series by decade’s end

Yesterday Ford said that a hybrid version of its popular F-series trucks would be built by the end of the decade.

The revelation came while CEO Mark Fields was discussing the company’s recent announcement of a $4.5 billion investment in developing 13 new electrified vehicles, and he gave the briefest mention of the hybridized F-Series variant.

“We do have plans to have a rear-wheel drive hybrid truck by the end of the decade,” Fields told NPR in an interview. “So yes, we’re working on [an] electrified F-series, and it’s really around a conventional hybrid.”

Fields did not state whether it would be for sale in dealers or in pre-production form by then, and other core details were omitted too, including which F-Series it would specifically be, though it’s most likely Fields was referring only to the F-150 when he said “F-series.”

The Ford F-150 – one of several F-Series pickups and the natural candidate for hybridization being the lightest duty – is America’s best-selling vehicle. This year about 570,000 units of Ford’s F-150 badged trucks will be sold.

Compare that to the combined total of Ford’s Fusion and C-Max passenger car hybrids, which might sell less than 39,000 this year.

Ford’s F-Series are available in both rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive, but Fields mentioned rear-wheel-drive only.

The American automaker’s move also comes as General Motors has phased out its 2-mode hybrid versions of Chevrolet and GMC pickups and SUVs. Those Silverados, Yukons, Sierras, etc. did not substantially beat non-hybrid counterparts’ mpg, were heavily contented, and sold poorly.

Click to expand. Source: fueleconomy.gov.

What Ford may do with RWD F-Series is unknown, but with fleet emission mandates to meet, and technology in hand to do better, electrification advocates can surely hope for an initiative to build hybrid trucks that is not without precedent.

In August 2011, Ford and Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to a collaboration that would have had the two auto giants jointly develop hybrid rear-wheel drive light trucks and SUVs. However, the deal fell apart just two years later as Ford management decided to head in a new direction, which left Toyota officials miffed.

Fields also expanded on the automaker’s recent announcement concerning its future plans on electrification.

“Part of our job as a company and as an automotive manufacturer and now as a mobility company, is to think of what the world is going to look like five, 10 and even 15 years from now,” Fields said. “And our view, very simply, is that over time, oil is a nonrenewable resource. And therefore, over time, higher levels of electrification will be necessary not only to meet consumer demand in that timeframe but also to meet the regulatory requirements.”

Fields did not comment on whether the manufacturer had plans for making a plug-in hybrid version of the F-series.

NPR

Ford, Toyota Hybrid Pickup Truck Partnership Ends Badly

It doesn’t take a genius to see that pickup truck sales and fuel economy standards are on a collision course. Starting back in 2011, Ford and Toyota decided to put their heads together to plan for the hybrid pickup trucks of the future. After all, Toyota is a world leader in hybrid technology, having practically invented the hybrid car segment of the market with its innovative Prius. Who better for Ford to work with?

Building a hybrid pickup truck is not as simple as shoving the Synergy Drive powertrain from a Prius under the hood of an F150. For one thing, the F150 weighs twice as much as a Prius. For another, it is expected to haul things once in a while or tow a trailer on occasion. Plus, the Prius is front wheel drive. Try telling some rancher in Texas that he has to buy a front wheel drive pickup and you might wind up with a mouthful of loose teeth.

Earlier this year, Ford terminated its working relationship with Toyota, leaving anger and hurt feelings in the wake of its decision. Speaking to reporters at the Tokyo motor show in October, Koei Saga, senior managing officer in charge of Toyota’s powertrain division, said the project progressed quite far and that Toyota was stunned when Ford decided to pull the plug. He feels Ford simply used the talks to tap Toyota’s hybrid expertise.

“Because we proposed everything,” Saga said. “Well, I don’t know whether they stole, but we proposed all the technologies we had. It even went as far as the drawings. Technologically, we went far, and the engineers of both companies agreed that that technology was good enough to do it,” Saga said. “But ultimately, the Ford management made a decision, and it fell apart. I really regret it, and I’m very sorry.” When Ford ended the relationship, it made sure it kept all those lovely drawings and technical information, Saga says ruefully.

It’s a classic “he said, she said” situation and Ford- despite its long history with intellectual property disputes– tells the story rather differently, claiming things just didn’t work out. Its spokesman, Said Deep, tells  Automotive News that Ford’s decision was simply based on the outcome of an internal feasibility study. Ford decided its own technology is better suited for a rear wheel drive hybrid system in pickups and SUVs. “We remain on plan to bring our new hybrid system to market by the end of this decade,” Deep said, adding that the system will deliver truck and SUV capability with far greater fuel economy. Ford already has 150 patents related to its system and another 230 pending, acccording to Deep.

“This (the hybrid pickup truck segment) is a very competitive segment, and if one OEM receives a boost in sales with such an offering, the rest will surely soon follow,” said Devin Lindsay, principal analyst at IHS Automotive. He said hybrid pickups could arrive as soon as 2017. Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com agrees, but addis, “It is hard to imagine that the traditional base will be drawn to the hybrid technology unless the increase in efficiency comes at little additional cost and without sacrificing capability.”

The regulations will force the issue, however. There is no way under heaven that traditional pickups are going to meet the 2025 fuel economy standards without drastic alterations in their motive power. The problem for manufacturers is that pickups and large SUVs are extremely profitable and the companies are selling every one they can weld, bolt and glue together. But because they sell so many of them, they have a disproportionate impact on corporate average fuel economy.

Americans love their enormous trucks almost as much as they love their mothers. When fuel costs spike and crunch time comes (again!) in a few years with a hybrid being the only choice, customers may prefer to cast their lot with Toyota, which has a well known reputation for building reliable hybrids, rather than with Ford, which does not. What goes around, comes around, they say. Ford may yet have reason to regret the rough treatment it gave Toyota.

Image credit: Automotive News.