Why Electric Pickup Trucks Are Facing Market Headwinds

Stellantis revealed on Friday it will stop making its Ram 1500 REV electric pickup, blaming weakening EV demand in North America.

Stellantis is canceling its Ram 1500 REV, its competitor to Ford’s F-150 Lightning. Tesla also quietly removed the long-range, rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck option from its site. An Edmunds analysis told BI that automakers misjudged US truck owners’ enthusiasm for EVs.

Americans favor large vehicles. Large EVs, though, are tougher to move. Stellantis, the global automotive group, confirmed that reality on Friday. The firm said it would stop manufacturing Ram’s much-promoted REV 1500, a full-size electric pickup that was intended to serve as the brand’s marquee rival to Ford’s F-150 Lightning. Stellantis stated in a release that it’s “reassessing its product strategy” as demand for full-size electric trucks “slows in North America.” The automaker was already contending with its own troubles, leaning on dwindling nameplates like Chrysler and Jeep without presenting consumers with compelling new offerings. A new CEO took charge in May as Stellantis launched a multi-year recovery plan.

Still, Stellantis isn’t the only company wrestling with difficulties selling large electric pickups to Americans. Some of the most prominent EV pickups in the US — from Ford’s F-150 Lightning to Tesla’s Cybertruck — experienced year-over-year drops in sales this second quarter, according to Cox Automotive estimates. That pattern underscores what Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, told Business Insider about the EV truck market: “The hype versus the reality just wasn’t there.” Full-size pickups were once thought to be the “holy grail of EV adoption,” Drury said in an interview. But a mix of obstacles — some tied to selling pickups generally — has tempered that expectation, he added. “It’s such a loyalty-based market, and because people are so deeply ingrained with their current brand, there was a lot against them from the get-go,” Drury said of manufacturers. “But couple that with very high costs compared to ICE (internal combustion engine) equivalents … just the outright cost being much higher is already a problem.”

Automakers must learn truck buyers The elimination of the EV tax credits, which effectively offered buyers a $7,500 reduction on qualifying EVs, doesn’t assist, since it indicates reduced federal backing for electrification. Drury, however, points out that the effect of the credits on full-size EV pickups was limited already. Given their steep sticker prices, EV trucks often didn’t qualify for the credits unless leased, and full-size truck buyers rarely lease. Data from Edmunds, based on dealer reports, highlights a stark difference in purchasing patterns between ICE truck buyers and EV truck buyers: In August, the lease rate for ICE trucks was roughly 10%; for EV trucks, it was about 54%.

“Full-size truck buyers do not lease trucks because when you use a truck, it gets a little beat up if you use it in the right way. You do aftermarket stuff to it to make it fit the purpose of why you bought it,” he said. “You can’t do that to a leased vehicle. You have to give it back the way it came.” Truck buyers also have particular requirements that the industrywide push to electrification must satisfy, Drury said. Range anxiety remains a persistent concern for all EVs. For pickups, manufacturers face customers who may live in rural zones where charging infrastructure is weaker than in heavily electrified states like California, Drury noted.

Tesla tried to serve that audience with a long-range, rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck package. Drury said the issue is that rear-wheel drive is a drawback in colder, slippery climates. “In cold-weather states, if you offer all-wheel drive and you offer rear-wheel drive, it’s almost a 99% take-rate on all-wheel or four-wheel drive,” Drury said. On Friday, Tesla influencers flagged on X that the automaker quietly removed the long-range option from its website. Stellantis and Tesla did not reply to a request for comment.

Automakers haven’t entirely abandoned EVs. The shift has simply decelerated. Honda is an example. In May, CEO Toshihiro Mibe said the company will cut its EV spending from $69 billion to $48.4 billion as it pivots toward 13 new hybrid models starting in 2027. That isn’t to say EV pickups are a total failure. The expectations were simply loftier than the reality, Drury said. “It’s like they overpromised and underdelivered,” he said.

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