The 2025 Caterpillar Pickup Is Cool, But May Be Dead On Arrival

Caterpillar has created what may be the best pickup truck for professionals in years but if they don't learn from the International Scout it may be dead on arrival.

On paper, the Caterpillar Pickup checks all the boxes but one big one. On the positive side, it is an automotive marvel. It is really good looking and has a far more classic pickup truck appearance than the Tesla Cybertruck monstrosity. It is designed for work but looks really nice. It has impressive ground clearance, built-in step rail, a really nice functional truck bed with multiple 120-volt plugs, an engineering wonder of a tail-gate that splits horizontally, decent (for a truck) aerodynamics, an integrated hidden winch, a huge cab, and some interesting power options that include a 500 HP Diesel with 1,000 lb. of Torque, a hybrid version with 450 HP and 600 lb. of Torque with an optimal 40-mile electric range, and an electric version with 600 HP and 850 lb. of torque (available at 0 RPMs) and a up to 300 miles of range. 

Other features include Caterpillar’s sophisticated thermal management system assuring the truck never overheats, exhaust braking typically not something you get on a pickup truck, class-leading gas efficiency for the diesel and gas engine options, a heads-up display for the instruments, an impressively nice interior, Generative AI voice command system with natural language processing (you don’t have to learn the commands), 360-degree cameras, load adaptive control that automatically adjusts the suspension depending on load, an advanced level 2+ self-driving similar to Tesla, an automatic crash detection and response system which will work even if you don’t have cell phone service (satellite) and it works with the engine immobilizer preventing theft, and impressive performance..

Performance for the V8 diesel gives a decent 5.5 second 0-60, while the electric version gives a sports car level 4 second 0-60 time. Both the electric and hybrid versions have one of the most advanced regenerative braking systems in the world. Given this is a segment-leading offering pricing starting at $65K is surprisingly reasonable though you can get up to $90K pretty fast depending on how you option the truck out.

The Truck is awesome, but there is one big problem.

The International Scout

That problem brings me back to another really nice truck for its time, the International Scout. We had one on the farm my family used to run and my best friend growing up had one as well, and they were both awesome trucks, and I liked the vehicle better than the Jeep I drove at the time. It was sturdy, incredibly reliable, and better designed than most of its peers. So why did it fail?

The International Scout had one huge drawback and that was you had to get its services at an International Harvester dealership. These dealerships weren’t set up for cars, they serviced commercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles tend to be trucked into the site for work or serviced on location due to their size and a small truck didn’t really fit the model. Granted the vehicles, much like I expect the Caterpillar Truck will be, were incredibly reliable. I mean we had a Caterpillar tractor that got covered with water when a dike burst, and the damn thing worked when the water receded. If the same thing had happened to a typical pickup, it would have been totaled.

But even though our Scout was a farm vehicle and we had other International Harvester products, servicing the Scout, as rare as that event was, wasn’t as easy as say getting one of the Ford or GM trucks services and we already used International Harvester services, for someone that didn’t it was far more difficult the dealers weren’t located in city centers but out in rural areas that were somewhat difficult to get to. No waiting rooms because people don’t wait for industrial equipment, and the sales staff is used to selling high-ticket industrial hardware, not cars, so they weren’t that motivated to sell low-ticket items.

So, the weakness in the Caterpillar Pickup has nothing to do with the truck, which on spec, is more advanced, more capable, and given it is from Caterpillar, more reliable than any other vehicle in its class, but how people will get the truck serviced.

Wrapping Up: Tesla May Show The Way

When Tesla first came out, they were sold in storefronts and if you needed service they’d come by and either fix the car or swap it for a loaner and take the car to be fixed. This process could work for Caterpillar as well, particularly given the expected high reliability of the vehicle once it gets through the typical issues surrounding any brand-new design.

If they can solve the sales a service problem of an industrial equipment maker selling a consumer product (granted they will target professionals and existing customers first) they have a winner in this vehicle, but if they don’t learn from the International Harvester Scout, as good as this vehicle is, it will fail in the market. I’m personally hoping they work this out because this truck is simply AWESOME!

Before you go, also please look at my new story on the Caterpillar pickup truck in which I discuss the F-150 vs Caterpillar Pickup, vs Cybertruck or why the Tesla Cybrertruck actually sucks.

Rob Enderle is a technology analyst covering automotive technology and battery developments at Torque News. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia, and follow his articles on Forbes, on X, and Linkedin.