We’ve known for a while that Ford has an electric version of its top-selling F-150 in the works. The automaker has been evasive on when exactly we’ll see the new EV. There are indications, however, that we might just see the electric Ford F-150 in 2021. However, we know that a few things have to happen before Ford will release the electric F-150.

The Ford Mach E release

Ted Cannis, the global director for electrification at Ford, recently told Automotive News Canada that the electric version of the Ford F-150 would release after the Mach E.

The Mach E will be an electric crossover inspired by Mustang and slated for release in 2020 as a 2021 model. The electric F-150 is said to arrive “as soon as a year later.”

While a spokesperson for Ford recently told Car and Drive the EV will be released “in a few years,” the schedule for the Mach E seems to suggest we’ll see the F-150 EV sooner rather than later. We’ll still wait for an announcement on when that will take place.

Educating the masses about electric vehicles

Ford is hoping that by creating an EV version of the best-selling vehicle out there customers will be more willing to learn about electric vehicles. According to its own studies, Ford claims about 42% of Americans still believe electric vehicles run on gas.

With many misconceptions out there about EVs, there’s still a need for education even as the number of electric vehicles on the market increase.

The first mass-market EV, the Nissan Leaf, actually debuted nearly a decade ago in 2010. Aside from a brief foray into small electric cars with the Focus Electric, Ford has seemed a bit gun shy about the emerging electric era until now.

Cannis looks to be getting involved with educational media releases including a guest post on Medium detailing how he thinks Ford will solve the EV puzzle for many.

Cannis claims that by showing up late in the game, Ford can learn from the expensive experiences of other automakers. Ford plans to produce reliable, safe electric cars that are fun to drive.

Ford released a video in July of an F-150 EV prototype towing a train filled with other F-150s that collectively weigh over a million pounds. It’s exciting marketing and we expect to see more of it as Ford moves closer to the releases of its forthcoming EVs.

The production versions won’t be able to tow such loads but a towing capacity heading for 10,000 pounds? Yes, it will be able to handle that.

While we’ve had 10 years of EVs, so far there hasn’t been an electric truck. The other automakers who plan to produce EV trucks have been as evasive as Ford in saying when the EV trucks would be available. GM has confirmed that it’s developing an electric truck too but has given no other information about such.

Will Ford have the first electric truck?

Will Ford beat the startups and Tesla to produce the first electric truck?

Having dominated the pickup truck market for more than 40 years, Ford isn’t going to tip its hand at this point. The company won’t tell the public or its competition exactly when it is going to release its EV version of the F-150. The automaker intends to produce both battery-electric and hybrid versions of its popular F-150.

Linda Zhang, the chief engineer of the Ford F-150, recently told Trucks.com that Ford is investing heavily in electrification. She explained that new capability, features, and performance could be easily added to help customers adjust to electrification.

Zhang went on to say that the company means to demonstrate that the Ford F-150 electric, whenever it debuts, will still be Ford-tough. Ford intends to prove that to its customers to show them the unique performance of an electric version of F-150.