Will Ford Build an Electric Maverick (or similar light-duty pickup)? Here's What We Know
Ford's F-150 was America's best-selling truck for decades, and the U.S. automaker has dominated the pickup market for decades. We can imagine Ford leveraging that history along with their recent experience making EVs to enter the light-duty electric pickup space.
Ford has proven they can build compelling small trucks with the Maverick's success, and they're developing new affordable EV architecture specifically designed to make electric vehicles accessible to more buyers.
The combination of Ford's truck expertise, the Maverick platform and a dedicated low-cost electric vehicle strategy could potentially create something significant in the light-duty pickup space. So what exactly is Ford planning? Based on official Ford statements and news reports, here's what we know about Ford's electric pickup plans and whether the Maverick (or something new) is going electric:
The Big Picture: Ford's Electric Truck Timeline
Ford has announced plans to introduce "two new pickup trucks – a medium-sized pickup based on the platform designed by Ford's California skunkworks team and a next-generation truck to be assembled in Tennessee" in 2027, according to an August 2024 press release outlining their revised electrification strategy.
Ford officials declined to provide details about the truck's exact size, including "whether the truck will be more like the Ranger, or the smaller Maverick," with Ford CFO John Lawler saying "We're not going to talk about that" due to "the competitive nature of the segment."
However, InsideEVs reports that "the first vehicle on a new, lower-cost EV platform will be a midsize pickup truck, not a compact one as many—including us—had assumed."
What Ford's CEO Says About Electric Pickups
Ford CEO Jim Farley has been particularly bullish in general about the segment. During Ford's third-quarter 2024 earnings call, he said: "In 40 years in the industry, I've seen a lot of game changer products, but the midsize electric pickup designed by our California team has got to be one of the most exciting."
Even more telling, Farley reportedly said on a company earnings call in February 2025 that he thinks the "sweet spot" for retail consumers are small all-electric pickups and SUVs. "On the U.S. retail side, a sweet spot that has emerged: these small- and medium-sized trucks and utilities. These vehicle’s use case fits perfectly for EVs – daily commuters, well suited as a second vehicle in the household. They require smaller, much lower cost batteries, these vehicles can be offered at lower prices to help adoption of EVs for the customers who really appreciate their lower operating cost, " he said, according to Ford Authority.
Learning From Ford's EV Track Record
The story of Ford's current EV pickups is mixed, but instructive for what a smaller electric truck might need to succeed.
The F-150 Lightning started with massive promise but has faced challenges. Ford temporarily paused Lightning production from November 2024 to January 2025 due to slower-than-expected demand, even though Lightning sales were up 86% through 2024. The problem? Ford "loses money on the vehicle and has been subsidizing sales" with the company expecting "about $5 billion" in EV losses for 2024.
But Ford has proven it can succeed with EVs when the formula is right. The Mustang Mach-E "outsold the gas-powered Ford Mustang for the first time" in 2024, with 51,745 Mach-Es sold versus 44,003 gas Mustangs. In the first quarter of 2025, the Mach-E had "11,607 models sold", up 21% from the prior year, making it one of the top-selling EVs in America.
The Current Maverick Strategy: All-In on Hybrid
For 2025, Ford just gave Maverick customers what they've been asking for since launch: the hybrid powertrain is now available with all-wheel drive.
Ford's hybrid strategy has been paying off, with "hybrids have been selling well for Ford, both with the hybrid F-150 and the popular hybrid Maverick." The numbers support this: Ford sold about double the number of hybrids compared to EVs in 2024, at 187,426 to 97,865 EVs.
The Bottom Line
Ford has not explicitly confirmed whether the Maverick will get an all-electric version. However, evidence suggests something significant may be coming in the small electric pickup space.
