ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) — Ford is hoping its dealerships will lend some of the new F-150s with onboard generators to help bring electricity and heat to homes and businesses still in the dark.
The Ford Motor Company sent a letter to Texas dealers Thursday saying they want to help communities in the state who have experienced power outages due to the winter storm.
One dealership, Abilene’s Arrow Ford, said they will free up one or two of the pickups to help local residents and businesses still without power.
The dealership said one of their employees had already tested it, using the vehicle to generate power after he lost his electricity.
General Manager of Marketing, Sales, and Service for Central Market Area Tim Witt wrote the following in the letter to the dealerships:
First, and most importantly, I hope you, your employees and families are all safe during the unprecedented weather related events of this past week. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
As of this morning, there are still hundreds of thousands of Texans that do not have electricity. I’ve seen stories of families standing in line at shelters and sleeping in vehicles just to stay warm. I can not imagine what they must be going through.
One way you may be able to assist your community is providing the use of a New 2021 F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid or F-150s equipped with the ProPower Onboard (option 472 or 477). Currently, we have over 400 of these F150s in stock in Texas.
EXCERPT OF LETTER FROM TIM WITT, FORD MOTOR COMPANY
The letter continues with logistics for how the dealership will handle the process in house.
According to the specs, Ford’s Pro Power Onboard allows truck owners to generate 7.2kW of power, which, according to Edmunds.com, is “certainly enough to power the necessities.”
“While it depends on the truck and the amount of power you’re using, a fully gassed F-150 can potentially run for days,” the site found.
The truck can be used as a generator whether one is stationary or driving.