Update: All sections revised.
On June 8, 2021, Ford introduced the Maverick as America’s first standard full-hybrid pickup. Media reports and Ford’s product strategy point toward increased electrification, including the release of a Ford Maverick Electric and a Ford Maverick Plug-in Hybrid as follow-up models.
Nonetheless, the new electrified Mavericks may be reserved for the next generation of the truck, expected around the turn of the decade. Here’s what we anticipate from the future Maverick variants.
On the Ford Maverick Electric
In 2022, Ford’s trademark filings suggested that it could create a family of Lightning electric trucks. The company filed trademark applications for ‘Maverick Lightning’ and ‘Ranger Lightning’ names at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on July 11, 2022.
Although Ford has not said anything about using the Lightning moniker on vehicles beyond the F-150, there are indications that the company plans to offer pure-electric versions of the Maverick and Ranger one after the other this decade.
Ford President and CEO James Farley Jr. has also hinted at a Maverick Electric version. The company is pitching the Maverick to car buyers who would typically consider a minivan or an SUV for their utility needs. This customer profile will also have a greater interest in opting for a pure-electric powertrain.
“This is the product for people who never thought they wanted a truck,” Farley Jr. said in an interview with The New York Times in June 2021. In the same interview, Farley Jr. said he could imagine the company making a range of Maverick variants, including a Ford Maverick Electric.
As of 2024, Ford is re-evaluating its EV plans due to slowing demand, a trend seen across the global auto industry. A Maverick EV likely won’t be a priority for the next five years. In a scoop story filed on February 20, 2024, Autoweek said it had learned that Ford had put electric versions of the Maverick and Bronco on hold at least until the 2030s
On the Ford Maverick Plug-in Hybrid
Ford probably knows it can’t call quits on the internal combustion engine when it redesigns the Maverick for the second generation. Tightening emission norms and greater consumer demand for more fuel-efficient and flexible semi-electric vehicles may compel it to develop a new plug-in hybrid system. At the moment, though, there’s no plan for a Maverick PHEV.
Ford spokesperson Mike Levine has said that “there’s no current need” to launch a Maverick Plug-in Hybrid, Heatmap reported on May 3, 2023. The present “Maverick Hybrid is incredibly efficient and affordable,” Levine added. He also stated the fact that the hybrid pickup truck’s EPA-est. annual fuel cost is incredibly low, which stands at USD 1,450.
On August 25, 2024, Automotive News projected that the Maverick will move to its second generation in 2028. We expect the next-gen Maverick (gas variant) to be based on an improved version of the current platform.
Sales
Ford started manufacturing the Maverick alongside the Bronco Sport in Hermosillo, Mexico, in June 2021 and commenced deliveries in September 2021. American dealers’ initial feedback was that the customers love the compact pickup’s size, fuel efficiency, affordability, and maneuverability.
In its 2023 annual sales report, Ford said that the Maverick Hybrid was America’s best-selling hybrid truck with sales of 52,361 units. The Maverick’s popularity has skyrocketed in 2024. Between January and August, Ford sold 100,323 units in the U.S., 71.7% more than in the same period in 2023 (January-August – 58,425 units).
| Ford Maverick Hybrid variant | Price |
| XL | USD 26,295 |
| XLT | USD 28,795 |
| Lariat | USD 36,735 |
Maverick appeals to the younger audience
Ford truck product marketing and brand manager Todd Eckert told CNBC in November 2021 that attracting a younger, more diverse customer was the company’s ambition with the Maverick, and it’s “certainly seeing that.” Early adopters of the all-new Maverick are younger, and a larger proportion is female than usual, it is reported.
People between the age of 18 to 35 account for over a quarter of 2022 Maverick sales, which is more than double compared to just 12% for the overall industry, Ford had said in its October 2021 U.S. sales report. According to J.D. Power, a quarter of the compact pickup’s buyers are women, whereas, in the full-size pickup segment, 84% of the customers are male, CNBC reported.
Maverick, very excited about this product. That’s completely whitespace for us, bringing the Built Ford Tough truck imagery down to an affordable price point that starting at $20,000 MSRP, fantastic fuel efficiency with the standard hybrid. We have almost 80,000 reservations to-date and again much younger customers, more diverse, more female customers.
Hau Thai-Tang, former Chief Operations & Product Platform Officer, Ford (J.P. Morgan Automotive Conference on August 11, 2021)
It would be interesting to watch if more compact SUV and sedan shoppers are tempted by the Maverick, opening up a new market for small pickups in the U.S. The Maverick and Santa Cruz are increasingly about consumer lifestyle and less about work duties. It serves buyers who desire the style of a truck with the driving characteristics of an SUV in a smaller footprint.
TopElectricSUV says
Ford has received an encouraging initial response to the Maverick’s Hybrid variant, with the majority of buyers opting for the electrified configuration. So, it makes sense to explore new opportunities to maintain momentum with future model years and generations. The Maverick Electric and Maverick PHEV would be great additions to the Ford line-up to further popularize the compact pickup truck both domestically and internationally. Adding eco-friendly features to the Maverick would also assist the Blue Oval in achieving its electrification goals.
A Mechanical Engineer by qualification, I started out as an automotive editor of a regional magazine in 2011. In my 11 years of experience in creating automotive content, I’ve traveled around the world to review, analyze and report on the world’s top electrified cars.
