One of the biggest roadblocks to greater EV adoption is a lack of electric offerings in the form factors that are most popular with buyers: namely, SUVs and pickup trucks. The Mach-E could turn out to be a good first step towards filling those gaps in the market.

Ford invested $500 million in Rivian last April, and also participated in the EV startup’s $1.3-billion funding in December. Ford subsidiary Lincoln has confirmed that it is working with Rivian to develop a new EV that will be an all-wheel-drive SUV, built on Rivian’s skateboard platform. It’s expected to be launched in mid-2022.

Meanwhile, Ford is developing plug-in pickups in-house. An F-150 hybrid is expected to be revealed this year, and a fully electric F-150 is in the works. Last summer, Ford released a video of a prototype e-pickup towing a million-pound train, as some rough-and-tough truck guys nodded their approval. In December, Ford confirmed that it plans to build electric and hybrid versions of the F-150 at its Michigan plants. 

The electric F-150 could appear as early as 2021, but it won’t be alone in the market. Rivian says its pickup will go on sale in late 2020. Tesla’s Cybertruck and GM’s first electric truck are both scheduled to drop in fall 2021. GM recently announced a new investment of $2.2 billion in its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, where it plans to produce several electric models.