Thanks to American marketing ingenuity, the pickup has become a status symbol. What started as a bare reincarnation of the horse-drawn buckboard has evolved into a sophisticated means of transportation, clad in leather and swimming in a sea of comfort that rivals the gear usually found in luxury cars and SUVs. With the EV revolution taking hold in many countries around the world, it’s no surprise that electric pickup models such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV and Ram 1500 EV are entering the market.
But those big trucks can be difficult for city drivers to handle. Who hasn’t witnessed the battle to put one of these behemoths in a parking lot by the mall? All that lugging around can be embarrassing and not everyone has to haul 5 tons of concrete pipe or a horse trailer every day. There is a market for less bulky vehicles with room for one or two dirt bikes in the bed, especially in countries where urban roads were originally built for bullock carts, not today’s super-sized vehicle.
Meet the Radar RD6 electric pickup truck
The United States has exported many of the hallmarks of an advanced culture to China, including lung cancer and the blessings of capitalism. Until recently, pick-up trucks were relatively rare there and were mainly used by farmers to market their agricultural products. But the American pick-up mania has begun to spread in Chinese culture, as has the demand for SUVs has exploded.
Geely approaches the auto industry differently than most other automakers. It has a dizzying array of brands — Volvo Cars, Polestar, Zeekr, Geometry, Lynk & Co, Smart and the London EV Company, among others — and it just announced another one. The newest brand will be called Radar Auto, which will target lifestyle vehicles such as SUVs, pickup trucks and ATVs, according to a press release†
The first product of the new brand is the RD6 electric pickup truck, which is expected to go into production in the fourth quarter of 2022. Few details are known about the truck, although the company says it has a range of more than 600 kilometers. Keep in mind the NEDC rating system used in China and the stricter EPA rating stats and the EPA range, if ever there is one, will probably be 250 miles or so.
Although Geely has several brands of electric cars, almost all of them are based on the company’s Sustainable Experience Architecture platform, which gives the vehicle a comprehensive technology foundation that can support single- and dual-engine configurations. It is used for the sekr 001 with dual motors and a 100 kWh battery, as well as the latest version of the battery-electric Smart with a single motor and 66 kWh battery.
Ling Shi Quan, the CEO of Radar Auto, says: “Understanding this new market segment and creating a new brand especially for these unique users has been the pinnacle of my career so far. Radar Auto will be goal-oriented from the start and that goal is to enable users to explore the world in a more sustainable way.”
He told Reuters recently: “According to an optimistic estimate, annual sales of pick-up trucks in China could reach 3 million units by 2030. More people are pushing for a healthy lifestyle with more outdoor activities, while governments are also relaxing pick-up restrictions in cities. Those changes support the growth of pick-up trucks.” The photo the company released showing the RD6 on a beach with stand-up paddleboards and camping gear is a visual representation of the company’s vision for the Radar brand.
electric says the brand’s development was assisted by car designer Peter Horbury from his UK design studio. “Radar’s product portfolio is focused on electric pickups and SUVs,” he explains. “This orientation challenges us to combine functionality and user-friendliness with aesthetic form. Our goal is to give radar users the opportunity to broaden their horizons and explore nature in a sustainable way,” says Horbury.
According to AutoblogGeely is considering bringing the Radar RD6 to the United States, where it would give US drivers a battery-electric option for the Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tacoma and other compact pickup trucks. Since the company has previously said it is considering bringing the Zeekr 001 to America and its Volvo and Polestar products are already on sale in the US, that move would make sense.
It is possible (this is useless speculation on our part) that Geely could build these vehicles in Sweden to avoid the 25% import tariff on vehicles made in China. Volvo and Polestar have excellent brand recognition in America, so branding them as Volvo or Polestar products would give them immediate credibility with American new car buyers.
Ford protects names of lightning and thunder
Image credit: Inside EVs
AutoBuzz saw a recent application by Ford to trademark the Ranger Lightning and Maverick Lightning names with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Trademarks do not always mean that products with those names will actually come on the market. Years ago, Ford trademarked the ‘Model E’, much to Elon Musk’s dismay, but no Ford Model E has appeared yet, although the Mustang Mach-E comes close.
Individual, Inside EVs reports that those names are also reserved in North America, but Ford has gone a little further by also trademarking the word “Thunder” in connection with its Ranger, Maverick and F-150 pickup truck models. They speculate that the Thunder name may be reserved for high-end off-road versions of the company’s upcoming electric pickup trucks. Thunder and lightning. It’s a marketing manager’s dream come true!
Ford CEO Jim Farley has made no secret of the fact that his company is planning more electric pickup trucks after ramping up production of the F-150 Lightning. “We are already pushing dirt down Blue Oval City in Tennessee for another electric pickup that is different from… [the F-150 Lightning]he said last fall. We also know that Ford and Volkswagen are collaborating on a battery-powered version of the Amarok for sale in markets where compact trucks are popular.
Inside EVs has an interesting image showing the outline of the Maverick, Ranger, F-150 and F-250 stacked on top of each other. It’s not that the Maverick is small, it’s that the F250 is huge!
The takeaway
The first rule of marketing is, “Give customers what they want.” Today, customers from Beijing to Berlin to Brooklyn want battery-electric SUVs and pickup trucks. Geely and Ford have done their homework. They know what their customers want and work hard to get it. Exciting times ahead as the EV Revolution moves forward.
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