Among EV consumers in the U.S., pickup truck drivers have been the toughest sell. In 2024, only about 0.1 million of the three million pickup trucks sold domestically were electric, a figure that reflects consumer hesitancy and limited supply—fewer EV pickup models were available compared to other vehicle segments. While car and SUV consumer choice has been widely studied, the lag in truck adoption is less understood. Understanding pickup truck buyer preferences is critical to meeting decarbonization policy goals.
A new study from Jeremy Michalek and Kate Whitefoot, both professors of engineering and public policy and mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, focuses on what it will take to persuade pickup truck buyers to go electric. A survey of 534 U.S. pickup truck buyers showed a majority are willing to switch to EV trucks over conventional options if they offer comparable price and performance.
“We find that one in four of the pickup truck owners we surveyed are dead set against electric vehicles. There’s nothing plausible we can do with the technology’s cost or performance that would win them over without a change in their preferences,” says Michalek.
“But that leaves three-quarters of pickup truck owners who are open to electric vehicles. Expected near-term improvements in cost and range may be enough to make electric pickup trucks attractive to many of these consumers.”
