[bzcat]

I’ve been a critic of the Maverick’s styling, in the other Maverick thread. I agree with the OP, but in less of fatalistic way. I also understand people who think the Santa Cruz is too extreme in the opposite direction. I’m curious what Chevy or Toyota would do in this segment. There will be a Goldilocks Zone entry into this segment eventually, that will get the styling just right.

I actually think Ford pretty much nailed the styling. Santa Cruz shows Hyundai's lack of experience in trucks - like the problem with first gen Honda Ridgeline. If Santa Cruz sticks around, the next gen will not look like a Tucson with the back roof loped off.

The Goldilocks Zone depends on where you consider the extreme lies. I'm of the opinion that Maverick is pretty much where the Goldilocks Zone is. If Santa Cruz is on the far right of the scale favoring style over utility, then the left side of the scale is something really utilitarian and no frills. Like the CMC Zinger or GM's Wuling Zhengtu pickup. Maverick falls right in the middle.

 

[bzcat]

My bet is it will outsell the Ranger. I have never seriously considered a truck, because any decent full size costs $70K and any decent midsize costs $50K.
With the Mavericks pricing, I wouldn't mind a little 80s bare bonesiness in a truck.

The Santa Cruz starts at $38K. The Maverick starts at just over $25K. I know which one I would want.

Not really possible for Maverick to outsell Ranger because Ranger production rate is a lot higher. Ford is constrained on Maverick volume because it shares a production line with Bronco Sport and the next gen Transit Connect which will come out in 2022. The plant in Hermosilo Mexico has a max capacity of around 350k and has to supply these three models for all of the Americas from Canada to Argentina.

Meanwhile Ford can crank out 300k Ranger and Bronco in Michigan if they want and it is only for the US and Canada market. Mexico and South America get their Ranger from Argentina.

 

[bzcat]

The current Ranger is a decade old truck.
When does the new one come out?
With the Maverick, I can see Ford positioning the Ranger more upmarket/larger truck.

New Ranger debuts end of this month in Thailand and Australia. Will arrive in US market in late 2022 as 2023 model. Ford has upgraded all 4 global Ranger production sites for more volume (part of it will be allocated to VW Amarok).

But the Ranger is not approaching anywhere near 350K units a year. It sold 45000 units across all of North and South America in the first 2 quarters of 2021. That is about 90,000 trucks sold.
I can see the Maverick selling more than that in the US alone.

https://fordauthority.com/2021/05/ford-ranger-sales-numbers-figures-results-q1-2021/

Michigan assembly plant can make roughly 200k on 2-shifts and 300k max on 3-shift.

Hermosilo assembly plant can make about 250k on 2-shifts and 350k max on 3-shifts and moving the line faster (which probably can't happen if they are building 3 different models)

Ford sold 90k Bronco Sport and 21k Transit Connect thru October 2021. Both will go up next year (BS on full year production and TC sales boost without chicken tax). So let say those two models takes up 170k including sales in other countries in the Americas. That means Ford has 80k capacity on Maverick spread across the Americas without going to 3-shifts.

Ford sold 100k Ranger in the US in 2020. In 2021, Ford sold 80k Ranger and 18k Bronco thru October - but it has produced another 15k or so Bronco that are just sitting in a lot waiting for new roof. So it seems likely Ford could top 200k volume with 2-shifts in 2022 if everything goes well (e.g. 120k Ranger and 80k Bronco all just for US and Canada). Depending on how many Bronco is in the mix, you can see the ceiling on Ranger production is a lot higher than Maverick.

 

[bzcat]

And that one I think they avoid due to the (fairly new) AWD Escape Hybrid being so much more MSRP.

Not sure that is the reason. I mean the FWD hybrid and 2.0T AWD are both significantly cheaper than comparable Escape as well so no reason to think Ford was only concerned about the AWD hybrid being prices differently vs. Escape.

I think the real reason is because Maverick hybrid is using a new internally developed electric motor instead of the one in Escape/Corsair which was outsourced. So Ford didn't want to bite off more than it can chew. My guess is Ford knew how many it could build based on battery supplies and/or production rate of new electric motors and decided to focus its engineering resources on integration the new electric motor on FWD only. It probably will get to the AWD hybrid once it can secure more batteries and/or motors.

 

[bzcat]

Not to derail, but I wonder if we would see Subaru bring back the Baja, or VW the Caddy in response?

VW put Tarok on hold and haven't said anything about it lately... probably not a good sign.

Subaru won't even give us Crosstrek WRX which is about as easy as it gets for new model variants. There is no way they will bother with a truck.

 

[bzcat]

Can't keep up with demand... Ford never had that problem when the entry level model was Fiesta and then EcoSport.

 

[bzcat]

I'm still angry we can't get it in Europe. It would be perfect for us. We would be willing to sacrifice creature comforts for the utility the bed provides.

I think Ford totally under estimated the appeal of this truck outside the Americas. Although to be fair, Maverick is a tick over 5 meters long (199.7" or 5.08 meters to be precise) which is important in Europe. It is the same size as Porsche Panamera, Mercedes GT, or BMW 8-series, which means it is not exactly practical to park and drive around if you don't have access to a garage in most European cities.

But for sure Ford could be selling this in Southern Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Australia. It is the ideal replacement for Mondeo sedan in those markets (same way it basically replaced Focus and Fusion in North America).

 

[bzcat]

It's marginally longer than my V90 and our garage here is full of Panameras, V90s, A8s, etc.

That's my point... people who have access to garages in Europe cities are driving luxury sedans or SUVs. They are not generally interested in a pickup truck equivalent of Transit Connect. For people that will be interested in this truck, size maybe a real concern - there is a reason why there is basically no more mass market brand large sedans in Europe. 5 meters and above are luxury car territory in Europe. You are probably an outlier... not that many V90 or Panamera buyers in Europe are wishing for an utilitarian pickup truck that is the equivalent of a Transit Connect with open cargo space.

Good call on the length issue for Europe.
Would they use the same drivetrain?
The Maverick hybrid seems quite quick for European needs.
Maybe just a Courier based trucklette thing?

Note they call the Fiesta two door a VAN.

The long nose of the Maverick also makes it longer than needed.
But maybe there is a market as a real (very light duty) truck replacement?

If Ford really wants to sell this truck in Europe, it probably will come standard with something like the 1.0 EcoBoost with 48V mild hybrid, which is what you find in Ford Focus.

The bottom line is that Europe prefer vans over trucks by a wide margin. Both fleet and private buyers buy lots of vans like Transit Connect. Just like lots of fleet and private buyers buy pickup truck in North America... different place, different taste.

 

[bzcat]

Whatever they were going for I don't care... it works. Them painted steelies... 🔞

 

[bzcat]

With a Tremor package, makes me wonder why the FX4 package exists. FX4 brought so little to the table.

FX4 is only $800 so it's like a no brainer if you already opt for AWD. Having an up-sale package like Tremor could actually make FX4 more popular because the valuation proposition it presents. Clearly, Ford wants anyone who orders an AWD Maverick to check either the FX4 or Tremor box... they don't want to just sell a regular AWD truck. It's psychological manipulation and car companies are very good at it.

 

[bzcat]

Amazed nobody's fast tracked a competitor to the Maverick yet. Ford's literally sitting and spinning on their thumb all the way to the bank on this trucklet.

Stellantis probably regrets that Fiat Toro was not engineered to meet FMVSS but I'm sure the next gen will be.

VW cut the Taos based truck after dieselgate... would have been on the market about the same time as Maverick and Santa Cruz.

GM has multiple similar trucks in production or development in China and South America but I guess Mary is not interested.

Toyota has showned a couple of concepts... guessing it will eventually join the party.

I would be shocked if Nissan is not working on one.

Honda probably not interested but a new Element as a pickup truck would be kind of rad.

 

[bzcat]

The old Chevy Tornado/Montano is a coupe' utility, so it's a different class. It's also tiny, slow, and very cheaply made (interior materials) to meet the demands of it's intended market.
That spy photo above though.. does seem like they are making it more US market friendly with the quad cab. Kind of changes it's cheap regular cab work truck market target.

Montana is based on the B-segment platform like Fiat Strada and VW Saveiro, whereas Maverick, Santa Cruz, and Fiat Toro are C-segment size.

The old Montana was a 2 door because that's what the market used to demand but since Fiat Strada came out, it's obvious that the market demands for B-segment truck is trending towards 4 door as well.

The new Montana is basically truck version of Chevy Tracker (Trax) that we don't get in the US.

 

[bzcat]

Maverick is the cheaper Escape. Ford couldn't make a profit selling Focus so it decided to make the Maverick instead. It even managed to strip enough cost out of it to price it near the horrible turd EcoSport. As an entry level product, the Mavrick is pretty brillent and totally on point for the brand.

 

[bzcat]

That’s just it, though. Ford is aligning their product portfolio worldwide and the Courier is now an aptly-named small van. I learned that when I suggested the same thing. 🍺

Indeed. In Europe, the Courier name has been near continous use on Fiesta based van.

Incidentally, Maverick name was last used on European Mk1 Escape.