Ford is building its first fully electric mid-size pickup truck for the US on a new manufacturing setup it calls the "Universal Electric Vehicle" platform, but the truck still doesn't have a name. Speculation points to either "Ranger," Ford's familiar pickup name, or "Ranchero," reviving a car-based pickup model Ford sold from 1957 to 1979. A trademark filing last year fueled the Ranchero guesses, though nothing is confirmed.
Separately, Ford has been promoting its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Ranger in Europe, where it isn't sold in the US, showing off a feature called Pro Power Onboard that lets the truck's engine and battery power tools and equipment instead of hauling a separate gas generator. In tests, the truck produced far less of the pollutants tied to health problems, like nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, than a small generator, and once its engine and exhaust warmed up, it used less fuel per unit of power too. Ford said running the truck's onboard power system can cost as little as a third of what a generator costs to run in fuel, once everything is up to operating temperature.
None of this changes what's available to US buyers yet. It's a preview of the technology and naming decisions Ford is working through as it prepares its next electric pickup, and a reminder that features like onboard power generation are already proven overseas before they show up here.
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