Ford Developing Hybrid F-150 with Toyota

Aug. 17, 2012 7:02 AM ET by Jay Traugott / 72 Comments

Many traditional truck buyers could very well go up in arms over this.

The day has finally come. Ward's Auto is reporting that Ford is currently developing, with the help of Toyota, a hybrid version of their best-selling F-150 full-size truck. In fact, a Ford engineer told Ward's that work on the more green friendly truck has been underway for some time now. The launch of an F-150 hybrid was inevitable because competitors like Chevrolet are planning full-size truck hybrids of their own with the next generation Silverado and GMC Sierra.

The deal between Ford and Toyota was signed last year and the former hopes to apply the technology to both the Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator as well. Toyota in turn will be launching Tundra and Sequoia hybrids along with a likely Lexus GX hybrid. At the moment, engineers are working on the issue of towing capacity and how a hybrid system can provide the required power buyers expect from their large trucks. The interesting question will be whether F-150 buyers can be lured to a buy a hybrid over an EcoBoost-powered gasoline model.

Ford is apparently convinced it's possible because they were able to lure many V8 lovers down to a V6 EcoBoost, but we're not 100 percent positive the same formula will apply to the hybrid version.

Ford Developing Hybrid F-150 with Toyota

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Ford Developing Hybrid F-150 with Toyota

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