The Ford-150 is the reference for pickups in the USA. CEO Elon Musk himself said that the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck will outperform the previous leader in utility. But Ford has just raised the bar: the next generation of the F-150 was presented last week. Not much has changed outside, but inside it is full of information technology and new extras. For the Reuters news agency, the modernized pickup is therefore something like “a cyber truck with a familiar face”.
2021 directly against Tesla Cybertruck
Ford also plans to bring an electric version of the F-150 in 2022, so that there would then be a direct e-competitor for the Tesla Cybertruck, which is announced for the end of 2021. For the time being, it remains a hybrid option – but like the pure combustion variants in the new generation, according to Ford radio updates it masters as with Tesla. And like the Cybertruck, the new F-150 also has sockets for the power supply of external devices, in the hybrid model with up to 7.2 kilowatts of power.
Unlike the Tesla Cybertruck, the new Ford F-150 has no “shocking” exterior design, writes the Reuters news agency – CEO Musk had prepared the public for an unusual and martial exterior several times, but the initial reactions are likely to come in shock be described appropriately for the Cybertruck concept. The Ford pickup, on the other hand, is hardly distinguishable from the current model, according to Reuters. The company is targeting traditional customers in the middle of the USA, including an American flag embossed on the dashboard.
At the same time, however, according to Reuters, Ford wants to take a major software step towards the future with the new combustion generation of its market leader pickup, which accounts for 40 percent of US sales. As with Tesla, there should be modern driver assistants, here called Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, which keep a distance from the vehicle in front until standstill and ensure that the F-150 stays in the chosen lane. Similar to VW, which initially wants to deliver its ID.3 people’s electric car with missing functions, the assistant at Ford will not come until 2021, Reuters writes.
Software step towards Tesla
After all, as with Tesla, the software update should be able to be installed by radio. Ford also plans to offer route planning and vehicle tracking software for commercial customers. Reuters therefore describes the new F-150 as a “fully networked vehicle”. So Ford apparently wants to get to Tesla with software before the F-150 is also offered as an electric car competitor.
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