Electric pickup sales in the US are falling short of expectations, with only 35,000 sold in the first half of 2025, down 4% from last year, compared to 1.6 million gas-powered pickups. Despite big bets by Tesla, Ford, and GM, most truck buyers say EVs lack the range, power, and practicality needed for real work, according to Bloomberg. High prices, range concerns, and political resistance, especially in conservative regions, are slowing adoption. Automakers are now shifting strategies, focusing on cheaper, more versatile EVs while keeping gas trucks in production. They write:
Itโs understandable why Tesla Inc.โs polarizing, oddly polygonal Cybertruck didnโt ignite a sales frenzy, and the Rivian R1Tโs advertised monthly payment of more than $800 puts it out of reach for most consumers. But even Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., two legacy automakers that sell hundreds of thousands of trucks in the US every year, havenโt been able to persuade more than a smattering of pickup-loving Americans to go electric.
Automakers collectively sold about 35,000 electric pickups to US drivers in the first half of 2025, down 4% from the year before. Meanwhile, 1.6 million gasoline-powered full-size pickups flew off lots during the same period, according to market research firm AutoForecast Solutions. […]
The plug-in truck fizz-out marks a big shift from automakersโ expectations five years ago, says Mark Wakefield, who heads the automotive practice for consulting firm AlixPartners. […]
GM will start to sell an electric truck with cheaper batteries and about 400 miles of range that will be priced thousands of dollars less in early 2028. Having sold about 10,000 electric pickups in the first half of the year, the company has already scrapped plans to make a dedicated EV pickup plant in the Detroit suburb of Lake Orion. Starting in 2027 the plant will also build gasoline-powered trucks and SUVs there to avoid tariffs on Mexican- and Canadian-built vehicles. […]
โThereโs a level of anxiety here, because weโve been down for two and a half years,โ says David Michaels, chairman of the GM unit of United Auto Workers Local 5960 in Orion. โI believe in the EV, but we want to be versatile. A lot of our members transferred to Factory Zero, and they want to come home.โ โWith Keith Naughton
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