Home Electric VehiclesFord’s F-150 Lightning Is Winning The Electric Pickup Game. Rivian’s R1T? Not So Much

Ford’s F-150 Lightning Is Winning The Electric Pickup Game. Rivian’s R1T? Not So Much

by Autobayng News Team
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The sales numbers for the previous quarter are in, and it’s both good news and bad news for electric pickups in the United States. It’s good because most of the battery-powered trucks on sale today in the U.S. have increased their sales numbers from July through September.

At the same time, though, it’s still bad news because the figures show Americans clearly aren’t as interested in electric pickups as they are in gas-powered ones.

The best-selling electric truck in America in the third quarter was the Ford F-150 Lightning, with 10,005 units sold, a healthy 39.7% year-over-year increase. From the beginning of the year, the blue oval automaker sold 23,024 Lightnings stateside, according to Cox Automotive, a modest 1% increase over last year.

2026 Ford F-150 Lightning STX

2026 Ford F-150 Lightning STX

Photo by: Ford

The zero-emissions F-150 sold nearly double the units compared to the second vehicle on this list, but its performance pales in comparison to Ford’s entire F-Series lineup, which totaled over 200,000 units in Q3 alone. What’s more, the Toyota Tundra sold 10,207 units in September alone.

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The Tesla Cybertruck finished the quarter in second place, with 5,385 units sold, a dramatic 62.2% drop year-over-year. From January through September, Tesla sold 16,097 Cybertrucks, a 38% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck

Photo by: InsideEVs

Hot on the heels of the controversial angular pickup is the GMC Hummer EV. Granted, we don’t know for sure how many pickup models were sold, as Cox Automotive’s data bundles pickups and SUVs. Together, the two electric behemoths sold 5,246 units in the previous quarter, an increase of 21.9% over last year. From the beginning of the year, 13,233 units found new homes, a 48.7% increase over 2024.

2026 GMC Hummer EV

2026 GMC Hummer EV

Photo by: GMC

Fourth place goes to the Chevrolet Silverado EV, which nearly doubled its sales numbers compared to last year. In Q3, the Silverado EV sold 3,940 units, up 97.5% year-over-year. From January to September, 9,370 trucks were sold, a 78.6% increase from last year.

Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss

Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

The technically similar GMC Sierra EV is close behind, with 3,374 units finding new customers in the third quarter. The Sierra EV had a late start last year, which means its sales increased by a whopping 771.8% in Q3 2025. Year-to-date, 6,147 units were sold.

2026 GMC Sierra EV AT4 Max Range

2026 GMC Sierra EV AT4 Max Range

Photo by: Patrick George

The Rivian R1T is currently the worst-selling electric pickup in America. In the previous quarter, the EV startup sold 2,378 pickups, a decent increase of 13.1% over last year, but it wasn’t enough to help it get ahead of any of its competitors. The same goes for the R1T’s year-to-date sales performance, with 5,857 EVs finding new homes, a decrease of 32.5% versus last year, when Rivian sold 8,673 R1Ts from January through September.

2026 Rivian R1T Quad

2026 Rivian R1T Quad

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Cracking the code in this complex segment has proven quite difficult for automakers. Despite soaring sales numbers in the gas-powered category, companies that managed to bring a fully baked electric pickup to the market quickly found out that demand isn’t quite where it needs to be. Then, there are companies like Lordstown Motors, which went bankrupt before shipping a meaningful number of pickups. What’s more, Stellantis, which promised the all-electric Ram 1500 REV, backtracked on that plan and instead is focusing on making a range-extended version of that model.

Things might improve when smaller and more affordable pickups hit the market. Ford is working on a $30,000 mid-size electric truck that’s expected to debut before the end of the decade. With a much more palatable price tag, the company might have a winner on its hands, just like the wildly popular Maverick hybrid.

Best-selling electric pickup trucks in the United States

RankModelQ3 2025Difference from Q3 2024Year to date (2025)Difference from last year
1Ford F-150 Lightning10,005+39.7%23,024+1%
2Tesla Cybertruck5,385-62.6%16,097-38%
3GMC Hummer EV Pickup and SUV5,246+21.9%13,233+48.7%
4Chevrolet Silverado EV3,940+97.5%9,379+78.6%
5GMC Sierra EV3,374+771.8%6,147
6Rivian R1T2,378+13.1%5,857-32.5%

Source: Cox Automotive

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