Karma Automotive will reveal its electric pickup truck later this year

Forward-looking: Electric automaker Karma Automotive is planning to reveal its first electric pickup truck later this year, setting the stage for a near future that could potentially be filled with electric pickups from a variety of manufacturers.

COO Kevin Pavlov told Bloomberg in a recent interview that Karma will base the truck on a new all-wheel-drive system that’ll be manufactured at its Southern California production facility. It’ll be more affordable than the company’s luxury sedan, the Revero, which commands a minimum of $135,000 although specifics beyond that weren’t mentioned.

The AWD platform will also serve as the foundation for a high-end sport utility vehicle, we’re told.

Karma Automotive launched in late 2015 after Chinese auto parts manufacturer Wanxiang Group purchased the remnants of Fisker Automotive out of bankruptcy in February 2014. The company teased an image of its truck last November, just days before Tesla took the wraps off its futuristic Cybertruck.

From what we can discern from the cloaked image, the concept isn’t quite as “forward-thinking” as the Cybertruck but is still unique enough to differentiate it from the crop of gas-powered pickups on the road today.

Tesla isn’t the only other big name that Karma will have to compete with in the electric pickup segment. General Motors and Rivian are also prepping electrified trucks while Ford has its Mustang Mach-E SUV waiting in the wings.