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.”
This trend wasn’t necessarily true for electric car reservations, according to the study. Recurrent found automobile purchasers tended to be more selective in the brand they preordered and were more likely to place standalone reservations.
Case attributed this to consumers having more confidence that their car preorders will be fulfilled, which allowed them to be more particular about the brand of vehicle they received.
The study also showed increased brand loyalty to Tesla. While consumers who reserved the Cybertruck tended to have other preorders, according to Case, those who preordered Teslas specifically were less likely to reserve any other brand of vehicle before the Tesla was delivered.