A New Patent Reveals Some More Details About Ford's All-electric F-150

author: Manish Kharinta   

The electric Ford F-150

As Tesla's Cybertruck and the all-electric Ford F-150 gear up to enter the electric pickup segment, the competition for the Rivian R1T seems to be ramping up quite rapidly. We recently compared all three offerings. Since then, new information about Ford's electric pickup truck have surfaced online.

The F-150 is not only Ford's best-selling model, but it's also the best-selling pickup in the U.S. for 42 consecutive years. Therefore an electric version of the F-150 has all the earmarks of becoming an instant success, as long as Ford gets it right. 

Other than Ford's claim that the electric F-150 can tow more than a million pounds, the automaker did not offer much information about its upcoming EV. 

The million-pound towing capacity was recently demonstrated in a promotional video where an electric F-150 was seen hauling rail cars sitting on steel tracks. This setup made the overall endeavor much easier.

Longer Range and a Stronger Frame

However, what's more interesting is a patent application for the electric Ford F-150 that surfaced online revealing a unique method of integrating the pickup truck's battery pack into a body on frame architecture. This platform will comprise of crossmembers that will come with battery housings and will be situated in the middle of the left and right frame rails. To reinforce the crossmembers, Ford plans to use a metal plate to provide additional support.

This layout will allow the carmaker to position several small batteries in different areas of the frame instead of having to place a  large, heavy battery pack between the two axles as seen in most conventional EV platforms. The company claims that this approach will also make the overall structure of the electric pickup truck much sturdier.

Along with American tech-giant Amazon, Ford also happens to be one of electric truck startup Rivian's investors and earlier speculation suggested that the electric F-150 might use the same skateboard architecture that underpins Rivian's R1T electric pickup truck. Rivian's platform might eventually become the base for an electric SUV that Ford's luxury car division Lincoln is currently working on.

This crossmember approach for battery housings will help in the reduction of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels while further optimizing the weight distribution. This method also simplifies the production process. Depending on the length of the frame, the number of crossmembers containing batteries might also increase which would mean that extended cab and longer bed trucks will come with more range and power.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.