NEXT-GEN FORD SUPER DUTY TRUCKS WILL LIKELY ADD HYBRID POWER
- The next-generation Ford Super Duty pickup trucks will likely gain a hybrid powertrain.
- Ford confirmed that its future heavy-duty trucks will have "multi-energy technology," which suggests a hybrid setup.
- Ford is also expanding Super Duty production to its factory in Oakville, Ontario, adding capacity for another 100,000 trucks.
The next generation of Ford's F-series Super Duty pickup trucks will gain electric assistance, the automaker announced yesterday. The F-series lineup of full-size pickup trucks have been the bestselling vehicles in the United States for roughly four decades, and high demand is leading Ford to expand production of the Super Duties to the Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, starting in 2026. As part of the production announcement, Ford hinted that the next iteration of Super Duty pickups will gain a hybrid powertrain.
Ford's announcement was quite vague, but it said that the expansion "paves the way to bring multi-energy technology to the next generation of Super Duty trucks." While we don't expect the Super Duty to go fully electric just yet—especially since EVs still lag behind gas trucks when towing and hauling—a hybrid powertrain would make plenty of sense, especially given how popular it has been with the smaller F-150 truck. The F-150 currently offers a hybrid setup, which slots an electric motor between the twin-turbo V-6 and the transmission.
Ford said that introducing heavy-duty-truck production to the Oakville Assembly Complex—which becomes the third plant to build the Super Duty—will initially add enough capacity for an extra 100,000 trucks. The plans will also create an extra 1800 jobs in Oakville, along with 150 jobs at the Windsor Engine Complex, also in Ontario, where the Super Duty's V-8 engine is built. The other two Super Duty facilities—the Kentucky Truck Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant—are already at full capacity, Ford said. The expansion will require a $3 billion investment in total.
In the same announcement, Ford also said that it "remains committed to developing a growing and profitable electric vehicle business" and specifically noted three-row electric SUVs. Ford had originally aimed to launch a three-row EV in 2025, expected to be the electric equivalent to the popular Explorer. Earlier this year Ford announced that the electric SUV would be delayed until 2027 as it waited for more advanced battery technology to develop. The three-row EV will also be built at the Oakville facility.
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