It's official. Toyota is swooping in for the kill.

[OffGrayMulchWagon]

I maintain that the buyers of Mavericks and Santa Cruzes are two different groups. The Maverick is a truck. The Santa Cruz is a CUV with a bed. Yes, both are unibody designs. That is about it for comparison. The actual designs (Mav - utilitiarian, SC - stylish/luxury/leisure) are for different subgroups of a genre at least (if not different genres).

In that respect, I think Hyundai is going to end up competing with itself (KIA). What Toyota (or GM) add will be more mini-truck than backless tall wagon.

I do wonder if Subaru might tap Toyota on the shoulder and suggest another collab with the Yota mini getting a midgate and Subaru getting something to badge as a new BRAT.

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[kevink]

ACC is a must have. Whoever got ACC with lowest MSRP will get my money.

My current sedan has it. My previous car had it. I really wanted it, but tariff uncertainty WRT pricing led me to just getting an available XLT.

Lack of it does force me to pay more attention to the speeds of the car in front of me.

 

[ScottyC]

..... the '24+ Ranger, for an easy example, gives up nothing to the Tacoma and beats it in several key areas, but it's being significantly outsold by the '25 Tacoma......

Good old fashion loyalty to your truck lines is what is at play here....Toyota never left the market with their Tacoma and continued to sell them to their customers and then when Ford exited the market when Ranger was discontinued in North America after 2012....Toyota (and to a lesser extent, Nissan) "owned" that segment while Colorado/Canyon just sputtered along. Ford brings Ranger back to NA for 2019 with a competent entrant and Toyota just dominated it with the Tacoma which enjoys a bullet proof reputation and is available in multiple configurations that Ranger is not which is baffling as F150 is the "jack of all trades" truck lesson that Ford needs to teach itself in the midsize segment but is afraid to do anything that might slice into F-Series sales. One look at Ranger in other markets will prove that out but not in North America where F-Series is king. Hard to explain (not really), but there it is.

 

[Cherokee]

“ the Tacoma which enjoys a bullet proof reputation and is available in multiple configurations that Ranger is not which is baffling as F150 is the "jack of all trades" truck lesson that Ford needs to teach itself in the midsize segment but is afraid to do anything that might slice into F-Series sales. One look at Ranger in other markets will prove that out but not in North America where F-Series is king. Hard to explain (not really), but there it is.

The part that blows my mind is that a nicely equipped F-150 costs $65,000 and a single step above the XL starts at $45,000
For a pick up truck really ?
Yeah yeah it’s not just Ford I know I know.

The higher prices of the Mavericks and Rangers and F-150-250 is our fault.
They all charge all that the market will stand for. And we pay it.
Ford would dominate completely If
The Maverick was $30,000
The Ranger was $40,000
and the F-150 was $50,000
For the upper trim levels like the Lariats and Tremors.

 

[LSchicago]

The part that blows my mind is that a nicely equipped F-150 costs $65,000 and a single step above the XL starts at $45,000
For a pick up truck really ?
Yeah yeah it’s not just Ford I know I know.

The higher prices of the Mavericks and Rangers and F-150-250 is our fault.
They all charge all that the market will stand for. And we pay it.
Ford would dominate completely If
The Maverick was $30,000
The Ranger was $40,000
and the F-150 was $50,000
For the upper trim levels like the Lariats and Tremors.

That will never happen again. They make less than 10% profit on vehicles. Far less on the Mavericks. Going down 25% on prices would put them out of Business.

But, the new EV truck sounds like they are at another revolution. As much as the production line reduced costs to build for the Model T, the new 3 line will do the same to lower costs of the new EV truck to Maverick price territory, while having a larger interior, more useful bed and better performance.

 

[WJOHNM]

The thing that keeps me from buying Toyota are the dealers. Around here anyway the stealers are just awful for their markup.

My sister wanted a new Camry; she keeps vehicles till the wheels fall off and always gets the best model LOADED up, she asked me to go with her because I know all the inner works of dealers working for one for over 30 years, she did her homework and knew what she wanted, when it came to the money part I figured I would impress her with my negotiation
skills, 3 dealers all did the same thing pointed to sticker THATS THE PRICE, have a nice day,
I had a feeling this was going to happen because they sell every car they get, she paid sticker. I think the same thing will happen when their compact truck is available. Reminded me when I bought my first Maverick 22 XLT in the early days, dealer laughed at me when I tried to negotiate price, I waited 8 months for that truck, paid sticker, most dealers added 5k to the price when they realized they could get it.

 

[TheShark]

My sister wanted a new Camry; she keeps vehicles till the wheels fall off and always gets the best model LOADED up, she asked me to go with her because I know all the inner works of dealers working for one for over 30 years, she did her homework and knew what she wanted, when it came to the money part I figured I would impress her with my negotiation
skills, 3 dealers all did the same thing pointed to sticker THATS THE PRICE, have a nice day,
I had a feeling this was going to happen because they sell every car they get, she paid sticker. I think the same thing will happen when their compact truck is available. Reminded me when I bought my first Maverick 22 XLT in the early days, dealer laughed at me when I tried to negotiate price, I waited 8 months for that truck, paid sticker, most dealers added 5k to the price when they realized they could get it.

Actually you are lucky if you just pay MSRP, the Toyota dealers around here add many $$ worth of crap.

 

[zen_]

The part that blows my mind is that a nicely equipped F-150 costs $65,000 and a single step above the XL starts at $45,000
For a pick up truck really ?
Yeah yeah it’s not just Ford I know I know.

The higher prices of the Mavericks and Rangers and F-150-250 is our fault.
They all charge all that the market will stand for. And we pay it.
Ford would dominate completely If
The Maverick was $30,000
The Ranger was $40,000
and the F-150 was $50,000
For the upper trim levels like the Lariats and Tremors.

You can buy those vehicles, at those prices. Actual prices for a pickup on the dealer lot are way below MSRP for the F-150 and Ranger, and even quite a bit for the Maverick in some cases.

F-150 XL standard cab with RWD and a 6' box (actual truck for carrying stuff and towing light / medium loads) - $32K
F-150 STX crew cab with 4x4 - $40k
Ranger XL with 4x4 - $32K

The standard features, comfort and tech of the base models is light years ahead of what you got 20 years ago; may as well be an alien spacecraft compared to a pickup 40 years ago. But I guess they don't look as cool as a spotless king ranch rolling around the suburb that can hold 1 grocery bag in the back seat.

 

[Darthie]

It's still a bit speculative but Toyota's North American head of planning and strategy confirmed that they are going to make a compact pickup to finally compete with the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2028-toyota-small-pickup-what-we-know-future-cars

Ut will be 2028 if at all. A lot can change by then.

 

[tryingtobuyamav]

I think this is good news overall but it's all in how it unfolds.

Ford needs an incentive to keep the maverick from creeping up in cost. Can't have it both ways on price and quality.

That said, if Toyota comes in on the high side with pricing, Ford will probably just a follow them at least to a degree.

 

[Surly Old Bill]

Looks like not until the end of 2027. The Maverick redesign will be coming out around the same time. I still don't think Ford has much to worry about.

Ford usually locks up the "truck" sales in Merkuh. The Transit quickly outsold the Sprinter tenfold. Foreign brands will probably focus on a niche market rather than try to directly compete. One niche that would be very popular would be a stripped down, low cost pickup, like starting below $20k and at $25k with popular options.
BUT, having watched how things go for 60 years, the other car brands will try to offer something with better, more, bigger, faster options and have it end up starting at $40k. Oh wait, we're talking 2027, with inflation going the way it is, that would be a starting price of $50k...but the Maverick XL will likely still be under $40k, maybe. It IS made in Mexico of mostly foreign parts. But if it were made in Merkuh, the cost of labor would also put it at $40k. six of one, half dozen of the other.

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

you're right about needing a hybrid to compete, but wrong about cost. Toyota, especially for hybrids, can command a higher price than Ford for a vehicle that on paper is the same or even less performant. the '24+ Ranger, for an easy example, gives up nothing to the Tacoma and beats it in several key areas, but it's being significantly outsold by the '25 Tacoma. even though the Ranger Raptor is way more powerful and better in any meaningful stat, the Tacoma has been selling more in the 55k midsize truck market, which I find baffling.

anyway - how much more can Toyota charge is the question. a lot of Maverick owners are very frugal, yes, but they a lot of them actually do have the money and would spend a bit more of it if they perceived a difference in value, quality, etc.

Aren't the Mavericks selling better than the Tacomas? IIRC someone mentioned that before on here?

 

[icegradner]

Toyota may not have a reputation by then. Their quality isn't what it was.

It’s not like Ford has a great reputation for quality either. IMO, after owning the Maverick for three years, Ford’s reputation for poor quality is well deserved. When you look at data, and not Ford fanboy opinions here, Toyota is still a country mile ahead even with he current stuff.

 

[James K]

It’s not like Ford has a great reputation for quality either. IMO, after owning the Maverick for three years, Ford’s reputation for poor quality is well deserved. When you look at data, and not Ford fanboy opinions here, Toyota is still a country mile ahead even with he current stuff.

There are 3 kinds of lies: little lies, big lies and statistics. So, you use the third to attack my opinion of a potential future. That hurts.......NOT.

PS: Don't you mean a country kilometer?

 

[Pierre777]

i Believe anything Toyota Built here will be of the same quality as Ford. UAW Union will be involved all parts source will be from the USA with other USA union involved in the supplier pipe line. etc.
It will be more expensive than the Domestic Brands as those Brands will receive favor. so expected this small pickup to be 3 to 4k more expensive than the Maverick.

Ford will be Miles a head when this Toyota drops in 2028/2029 the new Maverick will have a Plugging Hybrid model, an EV, a Hybrid Tremor model and possibly a Raptor Maverick.
Plus I don't think Ford will be their only competition. GM, Chevy, RAM, Dodge, KIA will all be introducing their own models.

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