Ford has promised exciting new electric vehicles in the next few years, so it’s not surprising to see the automaker filing for patents and trademarks to cover its innovations. There was the multi-EV charging system patent application from a couple of weeks ago, but the most recent patent is far more exciting. The keen eyes on the 7th Mustang forum noticed, and InsideEVs subsequently reported, that Ford applied to trademark “F-200,” which could be the automaker’s previously-teased T3 electric pickup.
CEO Jim Farley has touted the truck’s futuristic charm on more than one occasion, once calling it a “Millennium Falcon with a porch attached.” Farley promised that Ford would take a novel approach to designing and building the truck, saying that the company wants to build a pickup that thrives in today’s digital age. He also noted that Ford would continuously update the truck to refine and add features and capabilities.
Project T3, also known as “Trust the Truck,” will offer more robust vehicle-to-load (V2L) tech than the Ford F-150 Lightning, which already has an onboard generator with several outlets. We don’t know how Ford will position the pickup in its lineup, but some have speculated that it could slot in beneath the F-150 Lightning as a midsize truck similar to the Ranger in size.
Of course, the trademark application doesn’t divulge any detail on Ford’s intentions with the F-200 name other than to protect it from others using it. The application form states that it covers “motor vehicles, namely gasoline and electric automobiles, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and their structural parts,” so it’s technically possible (though unlikely) that we could be talking about a new gas pickup.
Ford is expected to unveil the mysterious new truck in 2024 and build it at its new electric vehicle manufacturing facility, BlueOval City, in Tennessee. The automaker has struggled to keep pace with demand for its F-150 Lightning but recently announced that it would triple production of the electric pickup this fall, giving it a 150,000-unit annual capacity. At the same time, some have raised concerns about flagging consumer demand, but Ford pointed to a massive increase in interest after it cut Lightning prices in July. Even so, the automaker has plenty of work left to do, as it reported a $1.1 billion loss on its EV business last year.
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Source: www.autoblog.com