Article: Popularity of Ford Maverick Hybrid pickup a 'big' surprise for the industry, even Ford

[BlackXL]

Well seeing that the Maverick is built on the Escape chassis I will take a guess that the Maverick would use similar AWD as the hybrid Escape.....electric AWD.

Probably a power takeoff to a rear diiferential - would technically be electically driven. Substantially cheaper to manufacture. Just put U-joints in the rear driveshaft of my hybrid escape. (No electric motors on the rear axle)

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[MakinDoForNow]

Would love to get a August Hybrid order scheduled!

August 27

 

[BlueOval5.0]

So they are surprised that there is demand for a product in a segment they walked away from after the 2011 Ranger faded away?

Half ton trucks are now Super Duty sized, mid size trucks are closing in on what half ton trucks used to be and left a gaping hole to be filled for compact trucks… and they never saw it coming?

Not everyone can afford to buy, operate, and insure a nicely equipped F-150, Lightning, or Super Duty. Even if they can, it might be too much of a financial commitment. You really have to wonder how many of these $100k trucks are going to be sold if wages don’t keep up with inflation.

These are only a few of the reasons that make the Maverick an attractive option to choose from.

 

[rlhdweman]

The eCVT has very few moving parts so it should be tough enough. They would be adding computer controlled motors to the rear which would provide all wheel drive. I would imagine much like the All wheel drive Escape.

I'm guessing this might put the hybrid cost at a disadvantage over the EB version.

 

[Allen King Jr]

Especially when they figure out how to make the hybrid AWD, it will be 80% hybrid 20% Eco boost

They know how to make a hybrid AWD (see escape hybrid AWD), they just chose not to at launch

 

[CACTI_HYBRID]

" Ford sold 13,258 Mavericks in the final three months of 2021, and 2,311 of those were hybrid. "

so much for the idea that hybrids were majority of all orders

Uh....You can't sell something that's unavailable. Wait until there are more hybrids made. Mark my words...when it's all said and done the hybrid will outsell the Ecoboost version 2 to 1.

 

[CACTI_HYBRID]

This was always a market opportunity

1. Make a standard hybrid pickup with great gas mileage
2. Price it affordably

"If you build it, they will come."

Absolutely! I laugh that they think the enthusiam for the Maverick was a "big surprise." Finally they've realized that bigger isn't always better. The Maverick could be the Volkswagen Bug of the '20s.

 

[pigsareus]

There is probably some very fine print in the EPA standards that Ford is exploiting. There is a dichotomy between what the EPA wants and what the market wants. I don't see how it can be $1k cheaper for Ford to make a hybrid vs the ecoboost; the numbers don't add up. In that case, Ford wouldn't want to make very many hybrids - only enough to create the fleet fuel economy numbers they have to meet.

read this over - it shows how a hybrid requires less ancillary components vs the ecoboost -there's definitely manufacturing cost savings in this :

 

[Decayed]

read this over - it shows how a hybrid requires less ancillary components vs the ecoboost -there's definitely manufacturing cost savings in this :

I dunnno, if you look at parts.ford.com the eco is $2k more expensive than the 2.5 but the trans is $1k cheaper. It's hard to use that site to gauge what ford's wholesale cost is for those units since they seem to change the prices based on demand.

eco+ 8 speed costs X while atkinson + CVE + hybrid components cost Y. All the other stuff could add or subtract cost either way, but overall I don't really buy the idea that the hybrid is cheaper to produce. The argument seems to be that the hybrids overall complexity is lower. If that's the case and it's cheaper to make then every manufacturer should be ditching straight ICE vehicles on the cost savings alone.

There has to be more to it.

 

[Old Ranchero]

Uh....You can't sell something that's unavailable. Wait until there are more hybrids made. Mark my words...when it's all said and done the hybrid will outsell the Ecoboost version 2 to 1.

you could be right, only time will tell. Maybe I'll get my ECO built sooner with less demand if more focus is shifted to hybrids.

 

[pigsareus]

I dunnno, if you look at parts.ford.com the eco is $2k more expensive than the 2.5 but the trans is $1k cheaper. It's hard to use that site to gauge what ford's wholesale cost is for those units since they seem to change the prices based on demand.

eco+ 8 speed costs X while atkinson + CVE + hybrid components cost Y. All the other stuff could add or subtract cost either way, but overall I don't really buy the idea that the hybrid is cheaper to produce. The argument seems to be that the hybrids overall complexity is lower. If that's the case and it's cheaper to make then every manufacturer should be ditching straight ICE vehicles on the cost savings alone.

There has to be more to it.

probably more than we'll ever know. Ford likely was able to draw in more green conscious buyers with the hybrid so maybe that's worth the PR and buzz, they were also happy to get a jump in female buyers picking these up as first time truck buyers - their hope is probably that they upgrade to a larger Ford truck down the road. Since the hybrid is less complex Ford is probably also considering the warranty they have on the vehichles and likely did some cost analysis where they expect less warranty work required on a hy vs an eco and reflected that in the MSRP.

 

[Decayed]

probably more than we'll ever know. Ford likely was able to draw in more green conscious buyers with the hybrid so maybe that's worth the PR and buzz, they were also happy to get a jump in female buyers picking these up as first time truck buyers - their hope is probably that they upgrade to a larger Ford truck down the road. Since the hybrid is less complex Ford is probably also considering the warranty they have on the vehichles and likely did some cost analysis where they expect less warranty work required on a hy vs an eco and reflected that in the MSRP.

You touch on a very interesting point - how much of the hybrid pricing was driven by the desire to appeal to first time truck buyers and to pull people in to the Ford ecosystem? The existing truck market is definitely NOT green. Those folks want utility and power which usually equals size and therefore inefficiency. Being able to capture some of the green buyers with a product that caters to Ford's area of expertise is a masterstroke. It's not just an MPG war or everyone of those folks would buy a prius or a smart car or something equally tiny. Ford is giving them a nice combination of efficiency and utility in a family friendly package that is neither too big or too small.

Getting some of that business and making a splash in the green market is likely very important to Ford.

 

[CACTI_HYBRID]

An affordable price and the thought of continued savings at the pump were the attraction of a hybrid for me. I almost never tow anything and 90% of my driving is around town, only me aboard, and not even a lot of freeway driving. Going green...easy when you're only looking for simple transportation. Kudos to Ford for seeing and accommodating buyers like me.

 

[Landric]

Any discussion over this is really comparing apples to oranges. From the very beginning ford stated they're only going to make 40% hybrids. The OKTB was delayed until December and now they have stopped taking orders on the hybrid. It's never really been a - do you want a hybrid or do you want a EcoBoost due to the fact the hybrid has been and continues to be in much more limited supply. Eventually production numbers I think will be released from Ford but even those will reflect availability and not consumer choice.

I was interested in the Hybrid but by the time I found out about the Maverick it was no longer possible to order one. I also wanted AWD. I'm hoping there is a AWD Hybrid version available when I get the new car bug again in 3-4 years. Assuming my XLT AWD is as good as I'm hoping it will be I will be interested in replacing it with another Maverick.

they were casting a wider net than a lot of people thought. Been discussed here a lot. These articles actually left out a 4th group- people that had previously owned compact trucks and were hoping they would return 1 day. That's me: Boomer, retired, want economy with utility, enough towing capacity and hauling for my regular uses, daily driver, choose how much tech you want, FAIRLY priced!

I'm a GenXer (ugh), I'll be 49 next month (double ugh), and I just ordered a Maverick XLT AWD. I still belong to the 4th group though, my first new vehicle was a 1992 Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickup. It was extremely basic, the only "options" were A/C, steel wheel trim rings, extra cost exterior paint, and an AM/FM radio. Available options I didn't get were an automatic transmission and power steering. I paid about $7000 but it was significantly marked down because it was an end of the model year sale, sticker on it was about $9000 IIRC. It was a great truck, I drove it for a few years, then sold it to a friend who drove it into the ground over the course of the next six or seven years. It had over 200k miles on it when he finally got rid of it. I've been wishing affordable trucks like that were still a thing. Now, thanks to Ford, they are. Adjusted for inflation that $9000 sticker in 1992 is about $17500 now, and Ford isn't too much off that with the base XL Hybrid and it is a lot more feature packed than my Mighty Max, it even has power steering!

 

[Mikknj]

A couple people on this thread clearly think hybrid = Prius. And only girls drive a Prius.

Lol.

They should shop the Ford PowerBoost... which was genius marketing by the way. Time to change the branding on Maverick to PowerBoost!

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