Ford has never been shy about its intentions to be more environmentally friendly. Examples include its entire EcoBoost engine lineup, the Focus EV and an upcoming hybrid Mustang and F-150 pickup truck. Even electric crossovers are in the pipeline. But why won't Ford go all the way and make that future F-150 a pure EV? Business Insider recently spoke with Ford chief technology officer Raj Nair as to why that won't be happening (at least not in the near future). The reason is actually very simple.

"In a CUV, you aren't too worried about payload or towing, but it's very different for a truck," Nair explained. "And when you put that number of cells and that much weight into the vehicle, it does cut into payload and towing." As any self-respecting truck customer fully understands, payload and towing capabilities are two of the most important issues, and any hindrance to either one would not be good, to say the least. But what about that upcoming hybrid F-150? Will it suffer from less payload and towing? A hybrid truck's capabilities won't be compromised, according to Nair. Quite the opposite. A hybrid truck adds value because Ford wants "electrification to be a bonus.

One thing that is really advantageous on the hybrid is it also becomes its own power generating source," Nair stated. So what about Tesla working on an EV pickup truck of its own? It could arrive sometime within the next two years, in fact. We don't know yet whether it will be mid- or full-size; the F-150 is the latter. Ford still needs more time to figure how (or if) an EV full-size pickup is even doable, but nothing has been ruled out, according to Nair. Ford is already investing some $4.5 billion in electric vehicle technology, so who knows what will come of that. In the meantime, Nair thinks "hybrids and plug-in hybrids are going to be a big part of this electrification story. Not just your battery electric car."