As Ford moves toward more electrification, there will be products that will need to be able to handle extreme environments. Hybridizing the F-150, and ultimately completely electrifying it, means that Ford will need to make sure it’s as capable and durable as their normal gasoline-powered offerings.
“Just because it’s a hybrid doesn’t mean we treated PowerBoost with kid gloves,” said Craig Schmatz, F-150 chief engineer.
The truck underwent the usual torture testing, along with the SAE certification process to validate the truck’s towing numbers. The SAE J2807 towing numbers for the PowerBoost hybrid are up to 12,700 pounds from the 430 hp V6 with 570 lb-ft of torque.
Protecting the battery is extremely important, and Ford developed a special laboratory test rig to test the 1.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. After spending 82 hours of being pummeled around in the rig — 10 years of simulated life — the battery passed the test.
The upcoming hybrid F-150 goes on sale in the fall, while we expect the full BEV version to go on sale in mid-2022.
