City Park Dept. Orders All-Electric Pick-Up Truck

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 9:09 AM

The Plymouth Park Board made city history last week as they approved the purchase of an all-electric pick-up truck for the Park Department. The first all-electric vehicle in the city fleet.

The Ford F-150 4x4 super-crew Lightning will be ordered from Oliver Ford Lincoln in Plymouth and is completely electric. The manufactured suggested retail price for the 2023 Ford F-15 Lightning is $58,619 and the quote from Oliver for the Plymouth Park Department was $58,055. The park will trade in a 1994 Ford F-150 and a 1989 Chevy 250 with a total value of $1,000 making the park’s cost $57,055. Hite noted that a hybrid was $3,000 to $4,000 more than the all-electric pick-up.

Park Superintendent Mike Hite told Park Board members he has a pick-up truck in the 2023 budget, no other truck is fully electric and Oliver Ford is the only authorized dealer in the area. He said the truck can drive 200 miles on a full charge and having the ability to plug in tools without having to bring along a generator will be a benefit to the staff.

Park Board President Dave Morrow said, “While this truck is more expensive than a gasoline truck, we’ll save that money back in three years.”

Board member Cayla Wade asked if the park would have to install a charging station and Hite said they will just plug it into the wall nightly although he anticipates having a charging station in the park in the future.

Delivery of the Ford F-150 Lightening is expected to be July or August of this year.