Fronts of the GMC Sierra Denali,Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Lightning EVs (left to proper).
Michael Wayland / CNBC
DETROIT – Tesla, Normal Motors, Rivian Automotive and Ford Motor have created a brand new market within the U.S. automotive trade of expensive, highly effective and precarious electrical pickup vehicles that promote for $100,000 or extra.
Simply 5 years in the past, the thought of a buyer paying six figures for a pickup truck — traditionally a piece car meant for hauling and towing — was trigger for nationwide headlines. But it surely has shortly change into regular, as automakers try to extend earnings on conventional vehicles and easily make a revenue on electrical ones.
“Prospects are keen to spend, so automakers are going to provide it to them,” mentioned Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at S&P World Mobility. “Generally, pickup vehicles getting extra tools, higher options and higher supplies actually simply displays basic client angle of wanting extra.”
However not like $100,000 conventional pickup vehicles with inner combustion engines that supply superior capabilities in contrast with their lower-priced counterparts, electrical vehicles have increased worth tags partly due to their applied sciences, together with the pricey batteries wanted to energy the automobiles.
“If you concentrate on who’s truly shopping for these new EVs, it is undoubtedly, for the [automakers], a distinct demographic,” mentioned Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive director of trade insights. “These are very costly, very area of interest automobiles.”
There are presently a handful of electrical vehicles for buy within the U.S. market: the Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and Normal Motors’ GMC Hummer EV, GMC Sierra Denali and Chevrolet Silverado. The GMC Hummer and Rivian even have SUV variations, which function comparable features as their pickup counterparts however in several varieties.
All these car can get near or simply prime $100,000, together with Tesla’s “Cyberbeast” mannequin for about $120,000 and a limited-edition GMC Hummer for greater than $150,000. Kelley Blue E-book experiences each automobiles transacted for over $100,000 final month — and the Tesla Cybertruck turned the best-selling car within the U.S. priced at six figures or extra.
That compares to the common worth paid for a standard full-size pickup of $65,713, together with common low cost incentives of seven%, in keeping with Kelley Blue E-book.
General, this electrical “truck” market, together with the SUVs, accounted for almost 58,000 automobiles offered in the course of the first half of this 12 months, in keeping with estimates from Motor Intelligence. That is lower than 1% of the roughly 7.9 million light-duty new automobiles offered throughout that point within the U.S., however a 35% quarterly enhance from the primary to the second quarter, in keeping with the info.
The market is predicted to continue to grow, however for now I’ve pushed every of these $100,000 automobiles for various quantities of time. All of them drive and deal with effectively, however in various methods. Listed below are some ideas on every:
Tesla Cybertruck
The Tesla Cybertruck is in a league of its personal in terms of just about all the things — design, perform, polarization and options.
It’s much more “cyber” than “truck.” It certainly has some truck capabilities, corresponding to a pickup mattress and different utilitarian options, however it’s not a truck in any conventional sense of the phrase.
A Tesla Cybertruck close to Normal Motors’ Renaissance Middle world headquarters in Detroit.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
The Cybertruck options tight steering, together with a yoke and “steer-by-wire” system; a stiff chassis just like a sports activities automotive; and, whereas arbitrary, a design that’s much more kind than perform, which is traditionally one of many prime causes to buy a pickup truck.
The Cybertruck, like its GM rivals, additionally options “four-wheel steer” during which all of the car’s wheels help in its turning. In contrast with a standard car the place two wheels flip the car, it makes bigger automobiles a lot simpler to maneuver.
What the Tesla Cybertruck lacks in conventional “truck-ness,” it makes up for in know-how, in addition to the human-machine interface, or HMI, of the car with the motive force.
The car is arguably an experiment for the corporate in some ways concerning its applied sciences.
- Execs: Design, know-how, software program, weight (lowest in phase), four-wheel steer
- Cons: Design, mattress entry, inside area and high quality
GMC Hummer EVs
The GMC Hummer EV — the primary electrical truck to hit the market — is probably the most corresponding to the Cybertuck when it comes to efficiency, worth and general gaudiness.
Driving the car, whether or not it is on- or off-road, is an expertise. GM has known as it the world’s first “supertruck.” It’s quick, giant and the least environment friendly client EV on sale at present, in keeping with the U.S. Environmental Safety Company. The SUV model is smaller and extra manageable to drive than the pickup truck model.
Each Hummer variants carry the load of GM’s speedy growth of automobiles. They’re heavy — estimated at almost 9,200 kilos for the pickup — in contrast with each different client car on at present’s market, together with their all-electric truck counterparts.
GMC Hummer EV Version 1
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Whereas the Hummer EVs can obtain 0-60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds or much less and are extraordinarily succesful with their efficiency elements, the load of the automobiles can simply be felt when driving them.
GM’s designers did a pleasant job of modernizing the Hummer’s exterior design for the brand new EVs, together with the power to take away roof panels. However the inside can really feel, very similar to the automobiles themselves, very cumbersome.
- Execs: Design, functionality, sturdiness, four-wheel steer, hands-free Tremendous Cruise superior driver-assistance system
- Cons: Design, effectivity, cumbersome inside, vary
Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra
GM’s latest all-electric pickup vehicles are the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Debali, each providing high-end fashions that value almost $100,000.
Whereas the GM design staff did an distinctive job of separating the appears of the automobiles to attraction to their respective manufacturers, the elements and functionalities of the automobiles are largely the identical.
A Tesla Cybertruck and GMC Sierra Denali EV First Version subsequent to at least one one other.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Each automobiles have an EPA-rated vary of 440 miles and supply as much as 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque. Essential for a lot of truck clients, in addition they tow as much as 10,000 kilos and might cost for 100 miles in roughly 10 minutes with a DC Quick Charger (so long as you’ll find a appropriate charger).
The Sierra is extra refined and opulent than its Chevrolet counterpart: It has open pore wooden, bigger complete screens, GMC’s “crab mode” with four-wheel steering — shared with the Hummer — and different options.
A singular standout function of the Silverado and Sierra EVs in contrast with others is the aptitude of a “midgate,” during which the again seats of the car fold down and the again glass can come out to create a virtually 11-foot-long truck mattress and segment-leading cargo space.
Each the Silverado and Sierra EVs drive effectively and really feel like a “truck” but in addition stay far heavier than their non-GM rivals.
- Execs: Functionality, charging pace, vary, Tremendous Cruise, midgate, four-wheel steer
- Cons: Effectivity, inside (primarily Silverado), weight
Rivian R1T and R1S
Rivian’s flagship R1T pickup and R1S SUV stay standouts within the electrical truck phase in terms of out of doors journey and life-style automobiles — emulating the likes of Jeep.
The second technology of the automobiles, which have been launched earlier this 12 months, improved on the journey and high quality of the vehicles. The R1S driving expertise was noticeably smoother than the primary technology of the automobiles.
2025 Rivian R1T and R1S
Rivian
Whereas the outside designs of the automobiles have been largely unchanged for the second technology, Rivian says they ship 10 instances extra computing energy than earlier than. The corporate additionally has modified greater than half the {hardware} parts.
The place the R1T and R1S actually stand out are their inside designs. They’re minimalistic, very similar to Tesla merchandise, however nonetheless have sufficient different controls to appease mainstream, conventional consumers. The performance and HMI are also spectacular.
- Execs: Design, software program, inside
- Cons: Charging pace functionality, no four-wheel steer, superior driver-assistance system
Ford F-150 Lightning
The F-150 Lightning is probably the most approachable all-electric truck in the marketplace. That features its beginning worth of about $63,000, driving dynamics and performance. It largely operates like a standard F-150 — but it surely’s electrical. That is as a result of it shares many elements with its inner combustion engine siblings.
When the F-150 Lightning hit the market, it was the primary “mainstream” electrical truck. It adopted the Hummer “supertruck” and Rivian R1T, but it surely was the primary true take a look at of such an all-electric car for conventional truck house owners.
An electrical Ford F-150 subsequent to a Tesla Cybertruck in entrance of Ford’s world headquarters on Aug. 27, 2024 in Dearborn, Mich.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
At launch, the car was a standout, however the competitors has largely caught as much as it or exceeded it in terms of vary, driving dynamics and general efficiency, particularly when evaluating it to the $100,000 vehicles above.
The F-150 Lightning, which might prime $90,000, stays a stable car however for consumers in search of to spend round $100,000 or extra, the competitors is much extra intense than it was when the truck launched in 2022.