Electrified pickup trucks could be the hottest segment with nothing to show for it. There aren’t any manufactured, yet. And the one everyone is talking about won’t be available until 2021. That is, of course, if Tesla can keep the Cybertruck on schedule. Since that probably won’t happen here’s the electric pickups beating the Cybertruck to market.

Then there’s the elephant in the room-two, really. Is there any demand for the hottest segment? To go along with that, will you be able to haul your trailer or boat without the range going from 250 miles to 50 miles once you’re past the local Steak ‘n Shake? There’s a lot of questions to this imagined segment. What do GM, Ford, and Fiat-Chrysler know they’re not telling us?

Some think there’s an immediate market for 250,000 electric pickups a year. Other industry analysts think the limit is 70,000. For all of the companies poised to embark on the electric pickup parade the figure better be more than either of those.  

Nonetheless, while Tesla plods along toward production someday, there are other manufacturers poised to enter the electric pickup party in 2020 and 2021. We think their figures and schedules are ambitious but hope for their survival they are spot on. In no particular order here’s most of what will beat Tesla’s timeframe-its competition.

Ford F-150 Electric Pickup

If you want to know if the battery-powered pickup is serious you need to look no further than to Ford. The F-150 is the best-selling pickup so if Ford is jumping in then there’s got to be a market there somewhere. Production is not scheduled to start until later in 2021. Again, the thing to keep in mind is how much battery capacity will it take to be able to haul heavy loads and not see your range drop like a rock? Ford has a slight lead with its investment in Rivian. 

Rivian R1T

Planned for late in 2020, the Rivian R1T has a large production facility and seems farther along in development. Will it be the first to launch? The quad-motor all-wheel-drive is touted as able to haul 11,000 lbs and reach 0-60 in three seconds. It is also marketed as possessing outstanding off-road capabilities as those four motors allow for minute torque vectoring. The advantage is said to be better handling and control under harsh conditions. That’s the other thing about Rivian; it is marketing its pickup as something more than just able to trailer a couple of jet skis. 

Bollinger B2

The plan for Bollinger is to launch in 2021. This is an all-aluminum body featuring a removable windshield, doors, roof, and rear seat. This is more in line with the original Jeep concept of having the ability to adapt to different uses and needs. Its simple flat body panels also have a retro vibe. It will have two motors with all-wheel-drive kicking out 614 hp and 668 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 times are said to be 4.5 seconds with a towing capacity of 7,000 lbs. With a range of 200 miles, we would like to see what that range diminishes to if hauling 4-5,000 lbs. 

General Motors Electric Pickup

Gm is also looking at the end of 2021 for its first electric pickup. Since virtually nothing has been revealed it is pure speculation as to what the pickup will comprise. It will have to share some Silverado components for the economy of scale and to cut development time. Figure the global electric platform it is developing will underpin the pickup. It will likely be a similar or identical size to the current Silverado. Speculation is that it can handle an 11,000 lb load. One thing that is known from info revealed in the UAW contract is that the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will handle production.

Lordstown Endurance

Lordstown thinks the end of 2020 is when we’ll see examples of its pickup in the street. Its name is derived from the assembly plant it acquired from GM located in Lordstown, Ohio. As with the Rivian, it will feature a four-wheel motor layout. Starting prices are advertised at $52,000 though we would suspect that to go up in the near future. Fleet sales are what distinguishes it from some of the other electric pickup players. Lordstown says it already has 6,000 orders. It will also be available to the general public. 

Atlis XT

This is another electric pickup manufacturer looking at 2020 to launch. Our info comes from its website which tells us there will be four motors-one at each corner. The range is listed between 300-500 miles. Towing capacity will range between 6,000 to 17,000 lbs. Optimistically, the operating range will be between 300-500 miles. It looks like the cab is derived from an existing truck, though it may not be. Prices will start at $45,000 though we expect that to increase once production commences. 

Hercules Alpha

Yet, another startup, this one located in Detroit. It wants to start production by 2021. A four-motor system propels the pickup to 0-60 times of four seconds, The range should stay around 300 miles pushed by a 1,000 mi. It will also feature full connectivity and digital phone access. This looks like a previous generation GMC truck, but the actual design won’t be revealed until mid-year 2020. Based on that alone we’d think the Alpha won’t see the light of day until 2022 or later, but who knows?