Ford F-150 Hybrid Slowly Comes Into View

by Steph Willems

Published: April 2nd, 2020

ford f 150 hybrid slowly comes into view

Long promised and as of yet undelivered, the hybrid variant of the Ford F-150 will be the first vehicle of its kind in a wildly competitive (and lucrative) segment. The model will offer pickup buyers a taste of the fully electrified pickups poised to flood lineups, while giving do-it-yourself types and work crews a convenient power source for their tools, lights, etc.

As of this week, it seems we now know what to expect under the hood.

A VIN decoder chart posted to newf150forum.com reveals the engine roster for the next-generation F-150 inbound for the 2021 model year. The lineup looks just like the current-gen model’s, but with one new addition.

The hybrid-electric (a terrible term) F-150 dons a V6 engine boasting a displacement that disappeared from non-turbo F-150s before 2018: 3.5 liters. That same engine faded from the Explorer line when it went all-new for MY2020.

Scheduled to enter production at the Dearborn Truck Plant later this year (joined in 2021 by a fully electric variant), the hybrid F-150’s gas-electric output is listed as TBD. The old 3.5-liter generated 282 horsepower and 253 lb-ft of torque; for 2018, the base V6 was replaced with a dual-injection 3.3-liter making more power. Where this engine lands on the power scale remains to be seen.

Elsewhere in the 2020 F-150 portfolio, Regular Cab, SuperCab, and SuperCrew bodystyles remain, as do the base 3.3L, upgrade 2.7-liter and 3.5-liter Ecoboosts, the 5.0-liter V8 (Ford isn’t ready to ditch available V8 power just yet), and the recent 3.0-liter turbodiesel addition. Not seen in the VIN is the higher-output 3.5EB found in the Raptor, though the off-road variant does appear in the chart’s vehicle type section.

[Image: Ford]

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Steph Willems

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10 comments

SCE to AUX on Apr 02, 2020

The only reason to get a hybrid truck s to save a nickel on gas. Some years ago, GM's mild hybrid trucks earned an EPA rating of 20/20/20 mpg, and were market turds. With such a wide array of drivetrains available (too many, IMO), it's hard for me to see any advantage of a hybrid in this application.

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- Scoutdude on Apr 02, 2020
  
  The 20/20/20 GM trucks were "full Hybrids" and shared the overly complex and expensive transmission jointly developed with then Daimler-Chrysler. Because of that they were only available on top trims with a healthy premium. Had they had a fleet version they could have sold a ton, but of course since they lost money on each of them they really didn't want to sell too many. This will have all the advantages a full hybrid has in any application, a number of which are going to be really useful for a lot of vocational uses. Just like police cars lots of public works and utility company vehicles idle much of their day away, to keep that beacon and/or scene lighting going while they take care of business. It will easily cut the fuel consumption of those vehicles in half. If they do bring it with a 15-20a 110v outlet like is expected it will also be a boon for many in the constriction trade, tail-gaters and campers. I'm sure they'll equip it with secure idle like police cars and there will be at least one external outlet. So no noisy and pain to deal with generator running constantly for intermittent power needs. The truck will happily sit there powering your tools, TV or coffee maker off of the battery and occasionally running the engine to top the battery back off.
  
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- Lou_BC on Apr 02, 2020
  
  These trucks will sell well in large urban centres.
  
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- JimZ on Apr 02, 2020
  
  they weren't around long enough to decisively be called "turds." They were launched right before the Great Recession, and were canceled after basically one year thanks to GM's bankruptcy forcing them out of the partnership with BMW and Daimler. They may still not have been successful but they never got a chance. Don't you people follow this industry? This wasn't that long ago.
  
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- Inside Looking Out on Apr 02, 2020
  
  @JimZ "Turd" sounds so wonderful especially when applied to GM vehicle (a.k.a. "bailed out"). Rorschach, people see what they want to see. The reality is too intolerable to be confronted with.
  
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- SCE to AUX on Apr 02, 2020
  
  @Inside Looking Out Here's the reality: GM sold a total of 12000 Silverado and Sierra trucks over the course of 6 model years, out of a total of nearly 3.5 million Silverado/Sierras sold: 0.3% of their volume. In an era of cheap gas and high development costs, that qualifies as a turd to me. Whether they're awesome is irrelevant if you don't sell any. We already know that most pickups are used to get groceries, and aren't really sitting at a work site operating power tools. Furthermore, this story listed 7 unique powertrains for the F-150, and the hybrid will certainly occupy the tail of the bell curve. A hybrid truck is just like a manual transmission: many say yes in the survey, but no with their wallet.
  
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- Dal20402 on Apr 03, 2020
  
  There are livery drivers still squeezing the last few thousand miles out of their Tahoe and Escalade Hybrids. A Ford truck hybrid will sell to professional audiences in cities just fine. Will it be the volume play for Joe Schmoe buying off a lot in Alabama? No, but you can afford to cater to different types of customers with a product of which you sell nearly a million a year.
  
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- Scoutdude on Apr 03, 2020
  
  @SCE to AUX The reality is the first one, the full hybrid was sold at a loss, they didn't want to sell more because that would have increased their losses on the project. The two mild hybrids that followed were compliance vehicles that they didn't make a available in many markets. Fleet purchases are a significant number of pickup truck sales so it wouldn't surprise me if the F-150 became the best selling Hybrid in the US. If not in its first year by the second year.
  
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3800FAN on Apr 02, 2020

Just look to the explorer to see the f150 hybrid. I look forward to it. More options is always a plus. Only question is how will it perform against the awesome 2.7 ecoboost and if its worth the premium pricetag which has been the question around hybrids since the original prius. Is it worth it?

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Ajla on Apr 02, 2020

Better than the diesel.

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