Tesla, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. say they have enormous waiting lists for their electric pickups. But each list likely contains many of the same names, as consumers place multiple refundable reservations to keep their options open, according to a survey conducted by battery health analysis firm Recurrent.
The study, released last week, surveyed more than 200 consumers who had at least one pending EV reservation between April and May and found purchasers tended to over-order electric trucks because of concerns over whether the manufacturer would actually fulfill the purchase. Eighty-nine percent of Tesla Cybertruck reservations overlapped with another truck preorder, and all Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Silverado EV preorder customers also had reserved another vehicle, according to the results.
“There’s just a ton of pent-up demand for an electric pickup truck,” Recurrent CEO Scott Case told Automotive News. “The pickup is this iconic vehicle type and category for the United States, and so, not surprisingly, there’s a whole bunch of manufacturers that are racing to get there first and be the biggest player. However, none of them have come out yet in scale.”