FORD Motor Company CEO Jim Farley says the next generation of battery technology will be crucial for electric utes to become viable for mainstream buyers, warning that current battery-electric vehicles struggle to meet the demands of towing and heavy-duty work. 

 

His comments came during an Australian visit and come months after Ford’s multi-billion-dollar about-face on BEVs, which saw it shelve the all-electric F-150 Lightning pick-up truck and divert investment towards hybrids and extended range electrified models. 

 

Mr Farley said battery electric pick-ups remain a long way from replacing conventional work vehicles unless major advances are made in battery chemistry. 

 

“A pure EV with a large battery is going to be a really bad tow-er. So, if you tow things, the heavier they are, the worse it is, you should not buy a BEV,” he warned. 

 

Mr Farley said the viability of electric utes will rely on the next-generation battery chemistry and that although improvements in battery technology are inevitable, he warned that the timeline remains uncertain. 

 

“I think solid-state has been part of my future like fuel cells have been for my whole life,” he said. 

 

“Everyone’s like ‘well, it’s gonna happen sometime’ … I mean, I don’t see that yet.” 

 

The Ford chief said limitations of current battery technology remain a major barrier for vehicles expected to tow heavy loads or travel long distances in remote areas. 

 

His comments suggest battery-electric utes are unlikely to play a major role in Ford’s near-term product plans, despite growing industry momentum toward electrification. 

 

Instead, Mr Farley believes extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) – which combine electric drive with a petrol engine acting as a generator – will offer a more practical solution in the short to medium term. 

 

Ford is already heavily involved in electrification, having launched the battery-electric F-150 Lightning in North America as an electric version of the world’s best-selling pick-up. 

 

However, the model struggled to gain traction and production recently ceased as part of a $US19.5 billion writedown of various electric models. 

 

The company has since shifted greater attention towards hybrid and EREV powertrains for its future truck programs. 

 

Mr Farley said Ford’s experience with partially electrified vehicles is helping the company understand how customers use vehicles such as utes in the real world. 

 

“We’re starting to really understand the duty cycle,” he said. 

 

“How big the battery should be and how much the customer is willing to pay for a bigger battery?” 

 

The passionate Ford chief added that electrified work vehicles may ultimately serve purposes beyond transportation, potentially acting as mobile power sources. 

 

“We haven’t really understood yet how much battery should carry for the vehicle for non-transportation use,” he said, referring to a vehicle-to-load system Ford calls Pro Power Onboard and is a feature of the plug-in hybrid Ranger that went on sale locally in 2025. 

 

It enables owners to power everyday tools and appliances from the vehicle utilising energy in the high-voltage traction battery. 

 

Mr Farley’s comments contrast with some competitors that are already moving ahead with battery-electric utes. 

 

Toyota plans to introduce a battery-electric version of the HiLux later this year, although an expected short driving range means initial versions will target mining fleets and other commercial operators rather than private buyers. 

 

Chinese manufacturers are also aggressively pushing into the segment. 

 

Brands such as BYD and GWM have already launched electrified pick-ups in Australia, while South Korean brand KGM (formerly SsangYong) has a battery electric ute with the Musso EV, although this is a monocoque SUV-based model rather than a body-on-frame four-wheel drive like its diesel namesake. 

 

Mr Farley believes traditional truck manufacturers still have an advantage when it comes to understanding real-world work requirements. 

 

Ford’s Ranger and Everest programs – both developed largely by the company’s Australian engineering team – sit at the core of its global commercial vehicle strategy. 

 

“When it comes to real world work vehicles and off-road vehicles, they are a long way from being competitive yet,” he said, referring to Chinese manufacturers. 

 

While battery-electric utes may eventually become viable, Mr Farley suggested the industry’s focus in the near term will remain on hybrid and extended-range electrified solutions.

Most people who drive EVs worry about a few things: how far the car can go on a full charge, how the battery works when it gets very cold outside, and how quickly it can recharge. A new research paper published in the journal Nature on February 25 shows that we might be close to solving two of those problems at once.

The research comes from a team led by Professor Zhao Qing and Academician Chen Jun at Nankai University, along with Li Yong from the Shanghai Institute of Space Power Sources. They found a way to make lithium batteries much more powerful. Specifically, they reached an energy density of 700 Wh/kg. The best batteries used in cars today usually top out around 250 Wh/kg to 255 Wh/kg, and solid-state batteries promise around 500 Wh/kg.

To understand why this matters, think of a battery like a fuel tank. If you have two tanks of the same weight, but one holds three times more energy, your car can drive much further without stopping. The new technology nearly triples the energy capacity compared to current standards. This means electric cars could eventually travel much longer distances without needing massive, heavy battery packs that weigh the vehicle down.

The new battery chemistry promises 700 Wh/kg density – source: Nature

The secret to this jump in power lies in the liquid inside the battery – the electrolyte. Batteries use a mix of lithium salts and carbonate solvents, which rely on oxygen atoms to help the lithium move around. This works pretty well, but it has big downsides. The liquid electrolytes are thick and do not spread easily. They also stop working well when the temperature drops, which is why many EVs lose range during winter.

The Chinese team decided to try something different. They created a new kind of liquid using fluorinated hydrocarbon solvents. Instead of using oxygen to move the lithium, they used fluorine. This change makes the liquid much “wetter,” so the battery needs less of it to function. Because the liquid is thinner and flows better, it can move energy much faster.

The new design performs incredibly well in the cold. Traditional batteries often give up when it gets freezing, but the new cells can still work at -58°F. Even at that extreme temperature, the battery keeps an energy density of nearly 400 Wh/kg. That is still higher than what most high-end EVs offer at room temperature today.

The new battery nearly triples energy density – source: ArenaEV

The team explained that they had to be very careful with how they created the new electrolyte – they had to balance the “space” inside the liquid so the lithium atoms could move freely. By switching from oxygen to fluorine, they removed the bottleneck that was holding the performance back, allowing the battery to be both lighter and stronger at the same time.

Many companies are racing to build solid-state batteries, which are often called the “holy grail” of the industry. But even those batteries usually only reach about 400 Wh/kg. The new discovery shows that “liquid” batteries can actually beat solid-state tech if the chemistry is right. If this goes from the lab to the factory, it could change how we build everything from delivery trucks to airplanes.

These batteries could power high-tech robots or even equipment used in space. For now, the 700 Wh/kg figure describes the battery cell itself, but even when these cells are packed into a full battery system, the improvement will be massive. This research proves that we haven’t reached the limit of what lithium batteries can do and throws a curveball at the solid-state promises.

Source