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Future Ford Vehicles Could Coordinate Torque With Electric Trailers
By Brett Foote
January 2, 2026 1:31 pm
Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an electric trailer coordinated control system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on January 19th, 2022, published on December 30th, 2025, and assigned serial number 12508857.
The Ford Authority Take
With a few aftermarket outfits making and selling - or developing - electric trailers designed to work in tandem with electric vehicles, Ford has published a few patents outlining potential ways those two things might work together. That includes ideas for things like bidirectional trailer charging and an electrified charging trailer control system, to name just a few. Now, this freshly published patent presents us with a new idea for an electric trailer coordinated control system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
One of the big benefits of electric trailers is that they can store an extra battery pack that could in turn feed energy to an EV, helping to compensate for range loss that occurs when one is towing a trailer. However, that type of setup can also challenge an EV's thermal management system, which is where this system comes into play. It would be capable of measuring the vehicle and trailer's state of charge, as well as the weight of both, before making some calculations.
Those calculations would be used to determine the charge distribution between the vehicle and trailer, and if there isn't a sufficient amount of charge to reach one's destination, the system would automatically move energy around to ensure that there is. It's a pretty interesting idea, and one that could very well wind up coming to fruition if electric trailers become a big hit in the future.
"Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” Ford said in a statement. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans. No matter what the patent application outlines, we will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services."
By Brett Foote
January 2, 2026 1:31 pm
Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an electric trailer coordinated control system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on January 19th, 2022, published on December 30th, 2025, and assigned serial number 12508857.
The Ford Authority Take
With a few aftermarket outfits making and selling - or developing - electric trailers designed to work in tandem with electric vehicles, Ford has published a few patents outlining potential ways those two things might work together. That includes ideas for things like bidirectional trailer charging and an electrified charging trailer control system, to name just a few. Now, this freshly published patent presents us with a new idea for an electric trailer coordinated control system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
One of the big benefits of electric trailers is that they can store an extra battery pack that could in turn feed energy to an EV, helping to compensate for range loss that occurs when one is towing a trailer. However, that type of setup can also challenge an EV's thermal management system, which is where this system comes into play. It would be capable of measuring the vehicle and trailer's state of charge, as well as the weight of both, before making some calculations.
Those calculations would be used to determine the charge distribution between the vehicle and trailer, and if there isn't a sufficient amount of charge to reach one's destination, the system would automatically move energy around to ensure that there is. It's a pretty interesting idea, and one that could very well wind up coming to fruition if electric trailers become a big hit in the future.
"Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” Ford said in a statement. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans. No matter what the patent application outlines, we will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services."
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