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A couple of years ago, Ford rolled its dice and decided that the results shown on the faces of the small plastic cubes were winners. Indeed, the automaker was right.
No one knew at that time that there was a ready market for the vehicle that was represented by the toss of the dice, though many suspected there was something there.
At that time, when the Blue Oval was taking reservations for the new compact truck brand – the Maverick is its truck brand with its models – there was a suspicion that the toss of the dice would be a winner. It didn’t take long to prove correct.
One of the ways Ford could gauge that it might have another winner on its hands – it had already been proven earlier by the Ford Mustang Mach-E electric and soon after with the reservations for the full-sized Ford Lightning F-150 electric – was using Ford’s reservation plan to gauge just how deep the demand for the new EVs would be.
At that time, electrics were sought by excited potential owners who willingly plunked down $100 to maintain a place in line so they could, if they wanted, turn their reservation fee of $100 into an actual full-on order for one of the new models.
Related story: It enabled Ford to Continue to Praise Products
It enabled Ford to add capacity at its truck plants for the new electric vehicles that it envisioned the market wanted. This was about two years ago when the automaker was pulling together its order lists, which also showed there was a real – at that time – market for electric vehicles.
Some Parts Of The EV Market Have Cooled
That the market for electrics has cooled considerably – it isn’t gone, it has just cooled – means that Ford has had to readjust its EV building plans radically. As they say, stuff like this happens. It means the automaker must pull in its planning by several stages. Instead of heading toward 1 million EVs (crossovers and trucks), it has reduced its planning to the roughly 130,000 full-sized vehicle market.
Changing Market Frotunes
It has also drastically cut the pricing on its Mustang Mach-E line. One place where it is still full speed ahead is in the compact truck market. The Blue Oval realized it had something of an anomaly on its hands when it opened up reservations for the compact-sized Maverick pickup. The Maverick is a full hybrid with a CVT transmission and front drive, a more standard four-cylinder EcoBoost motor, and a 10-speed transmission.
This part of the lineup is also available as an all-wheel-drive pickup. Perhaps Ford should have known from the intensity of its reservation-holders – people who not only put down their $100 deposits to hold a place in line for a Maverick but were also willing to turn their reservations into accurate orders for the compact-sized four-door pickup. There was a bit of grumbling when told that they might not be able to get their vehicles for another model year, but customers decided to wait.
An Interesting Pricing Conundrum
After all, where could a customer get a full compact Hybrid pickup for prices that started in the upper $20s? Or where could a buyer looking for a traditional compact vehicle find a full AWD model in the same price range? The Maverick proved there was a hidden market that Ford was tapping into just as Hyundai was bringing its compact to market. Also, Honda was redeveloping its Ridgeline in the same market.
Unintended consequence: Market of unintended consequinces
One unintended consequence of the popularity of the Maverick was that it was about to become the top pickup in Consumer Reports last year. Some might have figured out a domestic model at the top of CR’s listing. It was probably a fluke that would be fixed the next time CR did the following model listing.
Many probably thought either the Hyundai or the Honda would take its place at the top of the compact pickup world. But that wasn’t to be, as Ford has done it again this year. According to an announcement today, the Blue Oval’s entry into the compact pickup market has done it again. Ford Salutes Its Maverick Team Or, as Ford said of the development:
”Ford is laser-focused on delivering high-quality products and services that our customers deserve. While we are encouraged by Ford Maverick / Maverick Hybrid’s second year in a row as a Top Pick and Ford’s highest ranking since 2016, we continue working to increase vehicle quality and deliver the best experience for our customers.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley said when he gave away the surprise earlier in the day when he tweeted out: Back-to-Back…The @Ford Maverick Hybrid was @Consumer Re[orts as a Top Pick for 2nd year in a row. Thanks to customers for making Maverick America’s best-selling hybrid. Proud of our @ford team.” Who could have blamed him?
Ford Motor Photo
Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971. His automotive articles have appeared in venues including Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. You can follow Marc on Twitter or Facebook.
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