From the Tesla Model S Plaid to the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Lucid Air, electric cars were all the talk of 2021, but electrified trucks were the really big thing.
Several automakers launched hybrid, plug-in attributes and fully electric models to improve the efficiency and performance of their largest vehicles.
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Ford started the year with the F-150 PowerBoost, the first hybrid version of the full- size truck, and ended it with the Maverick Hybrid, a compact pickup that gets 37 mpg and starts at $21,490, making it the lowest-priced Ford, pickup and hybrid vehicle on sale today.
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Jeep also ventured where it never had before with the plug-in hybrid Wrangler 4xe, which can go 22 miles on just electricity and combines the electric motor with a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine for longer trips. It’s power rating of 375 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque made it the most-powerful Wrangler ever until the V8-powered Wrangler 392 arrived with 475 hp and 475 lb-ft and an old-school 14 mpg fuel economy rating to go with it.
The Jeep Wrangler 4xe became the best-selling plug-in hybrid in the U.S.
(Jeep)
But it was American startup Rivian that was first to market with an all-electric truck. Its R1T midsize pickup packs a four-motor, all-wheel-drive system with over 800 hp and the ability to tackle the toughest terrain.
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Close behind was the monstrous GMC Hummer EV that resurrected the classic brand name on an electric pickup with 1,000 horsepower and a four-wheel steering system that lets it drive diagonally for added maneuverability.
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And there’s much more to come in 2022, when Ford rolls out the F-150 Lighting that’s set to become the first all-electric version of America’s best-selling vehicle when it goes on sale in the spring.
