Electric Pickup Truck: Why is the "Thunder Loud but the Rain Small"?

In recent years, with the continuous advancement of the automotive electrification process, the pickup truck sector has also been attempting an electrification transformation. However, compared with the rapid growth in the sales of new energy passenger cars in China, the market penetration rate of electric pickup trucks remains at a relatively low level.

Why are the steps of electrification of pickup trucks limited? How can this "spring of stagnant water" be activated?

The Inevitable Trend of Electrification Transformation

Over the past two years, the trend of electrification has swept through the pickup truck sector, with major manufacturers entering the electric pickup truck market and actively filling the industry's gaps. In the view of industry experts, electric pickup trucks are expected to become a new hotspot in the pickup truck industry, and the acceleration of the electrification process will be a clear and irreversible trend.

Specifically, from a macro-strategic perspective, automotive electrification is the main direction for the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry and green development, as well as a strategic choice for the high-quality development of China's automotive industry. As a multi-purpose civilian model, the transformation of pickups to electrification is undoubtedly an inevitable choice for industry development.

From the industrial level, the pickup truck market has long been regarded as a "niche" market, mainly influenced by policies, consumer habits, and other factors. However, it is gratifying that in recent years, restrictions on pickup trucks in China have gradually been relaxed, and various places have implemented policies to lift bans. With the implementation of the "General Technical Conditions for Multi-purpose Trucks" and the continuous improvement of the use environment, the living space of pickup trucks has been significantly expanded. However, these positive factors have not brought substantial changes to the market end. The emergence of new energy pickup trucks has removed the high fuel consumption, high emissions, and high pollution of pickup trucks, and has improved in terms of handling and comfort, breaking the consumer's inherent impression of traditional pickup trucks as "low-end". Therefore, "touching electricity" has become the key to breaking through the pickup truck industry, and is expected to open up new development space and value boundaries for the industry.

From the perspective of market competition, the electrification of pickup trucks not only brings the opportunity to reshape the competitive landscape and realize industry reshuffling but is also the key to maintaining the international competitiveness of pickup trucks. Xie Guoping, the person in charge of commercial vehicle research business of the Informationization and Industrial Development Department of the National Information Center, and deputy director of the Resource and Data Office, emphasized that the electrification of pickup trucks is an important part of enterprises to build and enhance market competitiveness. With the rise of the electric pickup truck boom in the United States in 2021, the global electric pickup truck market competition has already begun. Faced with this trend, Chinese brand pickups also need to participate in international competition through electrification to ensure their continued competitiveness in the global market.