The EV pickup vehicles are right here, seemingly extra on a regular basis, however one of many greatest questions on EV pickups stays whether or not they are going to be good at some particular issues that inside combustion engine vehicles are bought for: hauling and towing, particularly. Briefly-range use, hauling and towing look like good options for EV vehicles; long-range, not a lot, given aerodynamics and the fundamental math of extra weight requiring extra energy to maneuver, particularly at larger speeds.
There has been some testing on this regard, and I’m certain rather more to come back, as a result of, while you speak to pickup truck house owners who really use their vehicles to tow and haul issues, within the transition to EVs, that is one in all their greatest considerations.
AAA did their very own, pretty restricted take a look at, not too long ago, relating to hauling with a 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, and the outcomes have been about what you’d anticipate. Possibly even higher, for those who anticipated vary to fall off a cliff. Or perhaps worse for those who took automakers’ ranges for EV vehicles at face worth.
When loaded with 1,400 kilos of sandbags, 110 kilos shy of its most capability, the Lightning’s vary dropped from 278 miles to 210 miles, a discount of 24.5%.
“Our testing revealed a big vary discount, nevertheless it’s essential to notice that the Lightning was loaded to close its most capability,” mentioned Greg Brannon, director of AAA Automotive Engineering. “Most patrons will probably use their Lightning with a lighter load, leading to a a lot smaller vary discount.”
AAA did their take a look at at speeds from 5 to 80 mph, and in addition famous that on the highways, EV vehicles which might be hauling and towing will get even worse vary than at decrease speeds, due to aerodynamic limitations and, once more, extra energy required to maneuver extra weight at a better velocity.
All of this appears to recommend one thing we already knew — that EV pickups are in all probability not the best use case for battery-electric, no less than in sure purposes. Or no less than those that many pickup truck house owners wish to suppose they want.