Those gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks are funding automakers' electric future.

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Even before its splashy reveal last month, Ford Motor's all-new electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck had already been declared a success.

Truck sales have exploded in the last 15 months. The F-Series' reign over its pickup competitors -- 44 years slotxo มือถือ and counting -- was ironclad. Americans seemed eager for an electric vehicle that suited their daily driving needs and off-roading fantasies.

The F-150 Lightning may be one of Ford's most important vehicles in the company's storied history. The Dearborn automaker has already received more than 70,000 deposits for the truck, Ford's second electric vehicle following the 2019 debut of the Mustang Mach-E SUV.

To build and develop these innovative, highly technological EVs, Ford has to follow the same tried-and-true strategy it has done for years: Sell gas-gulping trucks and sport utility vehicles to the masses. SUVs and trucks have proliferated in showrooms as automakers -- and consumers -- largely abandon passenger cars.

"Automakers need to keep producing high-margin vehicles with internal combustion engines [ICE] to fund this electric transition," Arun Kumar, managing director at AlixPartners, a consulting firm with a focus on automotive, told ABC News. "Automakers take that cash and put it toward EVs. This transition to electrics takes a long time. It's not a tomorrow thing."