In the ever-evolving world of electric vehicles, news changes quickly, and it can be a challenge to keep track of things without a scorecard. A market segment which appears very hot is the one for EV pickups, and that is understandable, given that pickup trucks comprise the single largest vehicle segment in the country. Just this month, two announcements changed the EV pickup truck landscape yet again.
In 2019, Tesla, the 800 lb. gorilla in the room, startled the world when it unveiled its futuristically-designed CyberTruck. At that time, Tesla announced that production would begin in late 2021, with consumer deliveries to start in 2022. That timeframe has been pushed back several times, and now, Tesla’s latest update informed us that production of the CyberTruck has been further delayed to sometime in 2023. Tesla’s website also changed, with the removal of any mention of a delivery time. The website still allows a fully refundable deposit of $100, but with this caveat: “You will be able to complete your configuration as production nears.” That’s as precise as it gets.
At the other end of the EV truck spectrum, Bollinger, a completely new name to vehicle manufacturing, had announced a B1 pickup and B2 SUV in 2019, with starting prices of $125,000. Bollinger had built several running prototypes but had not yet begun production. Last week, Bollinger stated that they would cease further development of the B1 and B2. Instead, the company would devote 100% of its manufacturing efforts to Class 3 through Class 6 commercial chassis, abandoning any plans for vehicle sales to private consumers. (These chassis would require a truck body manufacturer to complete the vehicle.) Bollinger’s statement claimed that the demand for EV trucks is higher on the commercial side, and that it expected to be able to deliver such chassis sometime in 2023.
It is interesting that both these initial reveals occurred in 2019, because so much has changed in the ensuing 2+ years. Since the time when we first heard of the Bollinger and the CyberTruck, the GMC Hummer EV pickup, the Rivian R1T EV pickup, the Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickup, and the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup have been developed, displayed at automotive shows and events, and played up on their respective manufacturers’ websites. At the time of this writing, customer deliveries of the first Hummers and Rivians have begun, Ford plans to begin deliveries of its F-150 Lightning EV in mid-2022, and Chevrolet expects Silverado EV sales to start up sometime in 2023. Regardless of price points, all these vehicles are formidable competitors to the CyberTruck (and the B1 had it entered production). The seemingly never-ending delays for the Tesla only give the competition an opening to dive into.
It’s also noteworthy that Bollinger had been accepting $100 deposits for its B1 and B2, which the company now says will be refunded (without stating exactly how many deposits were taken), while Tesla not only continues to take CyberTruck deposits, it also claims that it has a million such down payments. There is no telling how many customers who were initially interested in one of these trucks have since switched allegiance to a GM, Ford, or Rivian EV product.
There are two lessons here: one is that prototypes and unveilings, whether from established companies or from newly-formed ones, are no guarantee of an eventual ready-to-sell product; and two, production delays can frequently allow the competition to leapfrog ahead with similar products of their own.