2018 Ford F-150s Go Hybrid in Kansas City
Ford partners with Knapheide to build custom trucks for the city.
Ford doesn’t make a hybrid F-150 yet. There’s one on the horizon; it’s due as a 2020 model. But until then, you won’t be able to pick one up at your local Blue Oval dealership. Still, that hasn’t stopped a Kansas City shop from converting current trucks into plug-in hybrids. The best part? It has Ford’s full support.
Reported by Fox 4, the work is being done by Knapheide. Already known for building aluminum truck bodies and workboxes, the shop is less than five miles from the Kansas City Assembly plant where Ford churns out thousands of F-Series trucks. And a few of these base-spec work trucks are making the trek down the road to be fitted with hybrid technology.
The best part? This partnership is creating 70 new jobs in the region. General manager Mike Muller says that’s the best part about the project.” We’re kind of an ebb-and-flow-type plant,” he says. ” So this really helps us to level load and keep these guys employed year-round.”
Purchased by the City of Kansas City, the trucks will be put to work doing the toughest jobs the city can throw at them. Muller says that he’s proud of being able to provide that “work-ready solution” for the city. And partnering with Ford makes converting a decidedly non-hybrid model into a plug-in as easy as it can be. “It really allows us a lot of flexibility to provide every solution to our users here or across the nation.”
Fox 4 reporter Marcus Officer is impressed, saying: “for city-use maintenance trucks that are always on the road, you’re saving the city money long-term, and you’re getting the most out of these trucks so you don’t have to buy new ones.”
From what we can see, the plug is to the right of the license plate on the bumper, with the battery pack taking up space where a lockbox would go in the bed. It may cut down on hauling capability, but it’ll definitely lighten the city’s gas bill. We’re waiting to see what the official F-150 Hybrid will look like. In the meantime, it’s impressive to see that Ford is so willing to partner with a third-party to make its trucks a little greener.
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