Today, the idea of a plug-in pickup doesn’t sound unusual. The Ford F-150 Lightning has been on sale in the US for three years, and a plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger has arrived in the UK. But rewind 25 years and Ford already had an all-electric Ranger on its books — the unimaginatively named Ranger EV.
It never came to Britain, and only a few hundred survive worldwide, but the Ranger EV was significant: it was Ford’s first ever production electric vehicle. That makes it an intriguing ancestor of the future of pickups we’re facing.
Why the Ranger EV existed
The 1990s were a turbulent time for carmakers in the US. California’s Air Resources Board pushed through its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, requiring manufacturers to build and sell electric models if they wanted to keep selling their profitable petrol and diesel trucks in the state. With around a seventh of the nation’s population residing in California, and many of them in car-obsessed Los Angeles, it was a burden the manufacturers accepted.
Ford had been experimenting with battery power for decades, and its 1993 Ecostar programme racked up more than a million miles with a fleet of electric vans. The lessons learned were channelled into a production model. But rather than build a quirky EV city car, Ford opted to electrify its popular Ranger pickup. It had been North America’s best-seller in its class for more than a decade, so it made sense to apply the technology to a proven workhorse.
Heavy batteries, short range
Production began in late 1997, with the first vehicles arriving in early 1998. On paper, the Ranger EV looked like a fully-fledged pickup. Underneath, it was rather different.
Instead of a petrol engine, power came from a 39-module lead-acid battery pack feeding a 90hp AC induction motor driving the rear wheels. Payload capacity was just 317kg, thanks to the sheer bulk of the batteries. Performance was modest but usable: 0-50mph in 12.5 seconds and a governed top speed of 75mph.
Ford quoted a range of 58 miles on the Federal Urban Driving Schedule (FUDS), but warned customers to expect closer to 50 miles in typical conditions — and as little as 35 miles in cold weather if the heater was running. Charging took six hours from a 240V station, with a clunky conductive connector.
Still, Ford dressed it up with the familiar “Built Ford Tough” branding. Brochure highlights included regenerative braking, ABS brakes, and electro-hydraulic steering, as well as the option of air conditioning.
In reality, it was a compromise. The range was fine for site shuttles or utility company fleets, but hopeless for contractors or farmers. And while the truck came with the same three-year warranty as its petrol siblings, the lead-acid battery pack was covered for just two years, reflecting Ford’s own concerns about longevity.
Nickel-metal hydride upgrade
A year later, Ford launched a revised version with nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. Lighter and more energy-dense than the lead-acid pack, the NiMH upgrade improved both range and practicality.
The official FUDS figure rose to 100 miles, with real-world range between 65 and 85 miles depending on climate and driving style. Payload also improved, now rated at 567kg. Charging still required a dedicated Power Control Station, taking six to eight hours for a full charge.
Ford encouraged what it called “opportunity charging,” or plugging in whenever parked to top up the pack. That may sound familiar today, but in the late 1990s, there was no real public charging network, so the advice was of limited value.
Aside from the batteries, the truck carried over most features from the 1998 version. Two regenerative braking modes were offered, and comforts such as air-con, AM/FM radio, dual airbags and ABS were all present.
Notably, the warranty was now extended to cover the battery pack for three years, suggesting Ford had more confidence in the NiMH system.
Ford Ranger EV: A successful failure
The Ranger EV was never a runaway success, built as more of a compliance car than a genuine attempt to electrify pickups. Only around 1,500 to 1,800 units were built before production ended in 2002, and the reasons weren’t hard to see. Apart from the limited range, cost was a major stumbling block. While Ford never published a list price, the monthly lease rates were substantially higher than those for a petrol Ranger, even before the added expense of installing charging hardware.
Battery life was another Achilles’ heel. Both lead-acid and early NiMH packs degraded quickly, with many trucks losing a significant chunk of their range within two or three years. Practicality also took a hit: the low payload, lack of towing ability, and fleets having to adapt to the idea of overnight charging all counted against the pickup.
The most controversial part of the story came at the end. Like General Motors with its EV1, Ford offered the Ranger EV almost exclusively on lease. When those leases expired, the company recalled most of the trucks and had them crushed. Ford argued that supporting them long-term would be too difficult, as parts supply, trained technicians and replacement batteries were in short supply. From a business point of view, it made sense, but for early EV advocates, it felt like sabotage.
Only a handful of examples survived, usually because utility companies negotiated to buy them outright, or because they were handed over to universities and public institutions for training and research.
Despite its shortcomings, the Ranger EV was a genuine OEM-built electric pickup at a time when most EVs were oddball conversions. It proved that regen braking, electro-hydraulic steering, and fleet EV use could work in practice. For Ford, it was a valuable learning exercise, even if it didn’t make commercial sense.
For everybody else, it highlighted just how far battery technology needed to improve. Lead-acid was simply too heavy and short-lived, while NiMH was a step forward but still expensive and limited.
Where we are now
Fast-forward to today, and the Ranger EV looks like a relic, but also a reminder of how much has changed.
The US has a thriving pickup market, with the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and, of course, the Tesla Cybertruck. In the UK, we’re about to see the first wave of electric pickups reach the market. The Maxus T90 EV is already available — although it feels more like a development of the Ranger EV than a modern electric pickup — with the Maxus eTerron 9, Isuzu D-Max EV and KGM Musso EV all on the way. Ranges of 200 miles or more are now common, and charging infrastructure is expanding rapidly.
Ford, meanwhile, has launched the Ranger PHEV. It’s not a full EV, but with an electric-only range of around 30 miles, it represents the brand’s first step back towards electrification in the midsize pickup space.
The 1998 Ford Ranger EV was flawed, compromised, and destined to fade into obscurity, but it deserves recognition as one of the first serious attempts at an electric pickup.
If you squint, the brochures from 25 years ago don’t sound that different from today’s: talk of “zero emissions,” “best-in-class range,” and “opportunity charging.” The difference is that in 2025, the technology finally looks ready to deliver on the promises that Ford could only dream about back in 1998.
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