- ford built 21 trucks, which are labeled "c-pick up" in the company's february sales report, at its factory in hermosillo, mexico, last month.
- we think the new truck is the upcoming 2022 maverick unibody pickup, which will share components with the bronco sport crossover.
- ford told dealers early last year that a new small pickup would start under $20,000, but we now think that's unlikely since the bronco sport starts just over $28,000.
ford built 21 new small compact pickup trucks at its plant in hermosillo, mexico, last month, the same factory where the bronco sport is produced. this photo, leaked on the maverick truck club blog, purports to show the pickup on the line in mexico. we think the new trucks were the upcoming 2022 maverick, a unibody pickup that'll share parts with the smaller bronco.
in its february report, ford labeled the truck as "c-pick up." car and driver reached out to ford to clarify the moniker's meaning, but a ford spokesperson told us the company has no comment about the truck "beyond what's in the production report." nevertheless, we think it's pretty obvious that it represents an upcoming compact pickup. these 21 units are likely early models for ford's use, and it's projected to go on sale early next year as a 2022 model.
the maverick will share its unibody, traverse-engine platform with the bronco sport, and we've seen prototypes (pictured above) with four doors, suggesting it'll come as a crew-cab pickup. expect a 245-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter, shared with the bronco sport, under the hood of the maverick, and it'll be paired with all-wheel drive. if ford wants an even cheaper engine, we think the escape's 181-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder, also found in the bronco, is one possibility.
ford ceo jim farley, quoted by bloomberg today, said recently that ford will have extremely affordable products coming soon in the states, and the maverick should undercut the mid-size ranger's $26,015 starting price and that of the cheapest, rear-wheel-drive toyota tacoma, which costs $27,425. dealers were told early last year that the new truck would start just under $20,000, but we think that's unlikely since the cheapest bronco sport costs $28,315.