{"id":25716,"date":"2021-06-15T21:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T21:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=25716"},"modified":"2021-06-16T06:32:05","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T06:32:05","slug":"with-fords-electric-f-150-pickup-the-ev-transition-shifts-into-high-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/with-fords-electric-f-150-pickup-the-ev-transition-shifts-into-high-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"With Ford\u2019s electric F-150 pickup, the EV transition shifts into high gear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brian C. Black<\/a>, Penn State<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When President Joe Biden took Ford\u2019s electric F-150 Lightning pickup for a test drive<\/a> in Dearborn, Michigan, in May 2021, the event was more than a White House photo op. It marked a new phase in an accelerating shift from gas-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles, or EVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent months, global auto manufacturers have released plans to electrify their vehicle fleets by 2030 or 2035<\/a>, setting up a race to see who can most quickly shift entirely away from producing vehicles powered by gasoline<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Biden, former President Donald Trump promised to create jobs in the auto industry<\/a>. But Trump sought to do it by perpetuating a fossil-fueled system that is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions<\/a>. Automakers benefited from some Trump policies in the short term, including the rollback of fuel economy standards<\/a>. Now, however, they seem to be embracing the challenge of competing globally in a climate-constrained future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an environmental historian<\/a>, I see this moment as pivotal because unlike EVs from manufacturers like Toyota or Tesla, the electric F-150 does not entirely rely on green consumer choice. It places the electric vehicle transition squarely in the hands of mass-market consumers who don\u2019t choose cars based on environmental considerations, and who are buying far more light trucks \u2013 pickups, sport utility vehicles and minivans \u2013 than cars today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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