As part of the next stage of off-road sales battle with Ford Bronco, Jeep unveiled it is updating its flagship SUV with more capability, technology and features in an effort to attract off-road buyers with a plug-in hybrid electric version, or PHEV, that the brand named “4xe.” Jeep is playing an important part in electrification plans of its parent company Stellantis. Stellantis committed to spend more than $32.7 billion by the end of 2025 under its electrification strategy as it targets selling 5 million EVs by the end of the decade, with 50% of them being passenger vehicles and light duty trucks in the U.S. 

On Tuesday, Ford revealed it is intensifying its electrification strategy as it will be committing about $1.3 billion to transform its Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada into a new electric vehicle hub, renaming it the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex. This will be the place where the Blue Oval will be building its next-generation EVs that are due to hit market around 2025. Moreover, it is the first time that Ford will be completely retooling a North American facility that produces ICE-powered vehicles into one that manufactures EVs. 

On Monday, Nissan revealed its electric SUV concept at the Shanghai Auto Show named the Arizon. The vehicle is due to be built on a platform that Nissan is sharing with Renault SA (OTC:RNLSY), Mitsubishi Corporation (OTC:MSBHF) and Infiniti.  Under its Nissan Ambition 2030 plan, the automaker has recently accelerated its EV efforts in Europe and Japan, but not in the U.S. 

The newly elected CEO, Koji Sato, who took charge on April 1st has a hard task of taking Toyota to the electric era. Despite doubling its EV efforts, Toyota is not giving up on hybrids as it works on a new EV-only platform, according to Reuters. On April 7th, Reuters reported that the new leadership revealed ten new EV models are planned to be rolled out by 2026 along with the 2026 sales goal of 1.5 million EVs. This sales target is drastically different from Toyota’s global 2022 EV sales of 24,000 vehicles, which was a far cry from its total 2022 car sales that amounted to 10.5 million.

Undoubtedly, China, Europe and the U.S. are powering ahead towards an EV future. The features of these vehicles are all about tech and software, while combustion engine vehicles were all about the mechanics and hardware. But, electric pickups go even further than that, perhaps because they promise to redefine the way we think about pickups in general. these vehicles promise to boost the self-confidence of inexperienced drivers as they will be the perfect companion both on and off-roads. With Worksport’s Terravis solar powered covers and COR portable battery, pickup drivers will be able to power remote locations and upgrade their camping trips in an emissions-free manner. Without components of internal combustion engines, pickups will offer massive storage spaces. Therefore, perhaps it’s not an overstatement to say that this year’s EV success rests on the shoulders of electric pickups as 2023 has already been dubbed as the year of the electric pickup and for good reason.