The emerging electric pickup truck segment is going to be extremely competitive. Since the segment is so new, automakers are rushing to produce the best electric truck and dominate rankings. Rivan and Ford have already produced electric truck options. Chevrolet and Ram are on their heels. Folks are already comparing the Rivian R1T to the Ford F-150 Lightning, but the real electric truck war begins in 2023.

There aren’t enough electric trucks for a solid reference point yet

Class-leading vehicles set the standard in the automotive industry, and other automakers try to take the top spot from the most popular vehicles. The Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 are the trucks to beat in the full-size pickup truck segment. There are plenty of model years that reflect the quality of these trucks. These pickups have rocked rankings and captured the hearts of consumers year after year.

The electric pickup truck vehicle segment or subsegment is new territory. Some could argue that the R1T is the undisputed leader of its segment because of its impressive performance specs, but it’s still too early to know how drivers feel about the pickup yet. More importantly, both the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning are harder to obtain than most other truck models.

The R1T Launch Edition starts at $85,000. The average consumer may not ever get to experience the electric pickup truck with a starting price like that. If you didn’t make a reservation for an F-150 Lightning, you won’t get to experience that electric truck anytime soon either.

Until the most affordable versions of these electric trucks are readily available, it’ll be much more difficult to compare and draw conclusions about them. Ram and Chevy also have capable contributions to the conversation on electric trucks, so it’s far too soon for Rivian or Ford to claim victory.

The Rivian R1T may not be an option for the average consumer

Rivian has already won the electric pickup truck war from a performance standpoint. It’s hard to imagine Ford or GM producing an electric truck with enough power to compete with the R1T anytime soon.

Rivian may have performance in the bag, but what are the odds of its base model pickup being as popular as an electric Ford F-150 or an electric Ram 1500 in the long run? Even after federal electric vehicle tax credits, the R1T’s base model is over $60K.

The Ford F-150 Lightning Pro base model is closer to $40,000 before any incentives. The Ram 1500 EV base model will likely be within the same price range as the F-150 Lightning base model. The Chevy Silverado EV base model is also within the same price range. The R1T could be the better truck, but it won’t be the most popular electric truck because of its high starting price.

The greatest electric truck competitors may not have been produced yet

Many new electric pickup truck will surface in the next few years. Next year will be huge for electric trucks because more models will be available from different automakers. The Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T should be more readily available by 2023 as well.

There’s no telling which electric pickup truck nameplate will dominate the competition, but 2023 may be the year of the electric truck. According to Inverse, the Silverado EV will arrive in spring 2023 to shake things up.

Read more about the Silverado EV in the next article below.