Ford Maverick Modifies for Vocational Fleet Needs

Ford is on an electric roll, launching the all-new compact pickup, the Ford Maverick.

“The Maverick product proposition is like nothing else out there. It’s a great-looking truck featuring four doors with room for five adults, a standard full-hybrid engine with city fuel economy that beats a Honda Civic, plenty of towing and hauling for weekend trips or do-it-yourself projects; And it starts under $20,000,” said Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Maverick challenges the status quo and the stereotypes of what a pickup truck can be. We believe it will be compelling to a lot of people who never before considered a truck.”

Starting with an MSRP of $19,995, it’s smaller than the Ranger and focused on those who may not have realized they needed a truck.

Vocational Flexibility

The Maverick FLEXBED system provides organization and cargo solutions to fit vocational fleet needs. It offers a multi-position tailgate, slots to use lumber to subdivide the bed, 10 available anchor points, two 12-volt 20-amp prewired sources at the back enabling DIY electrical solutions, plus two available 110-volt outlets for powering a laptop or small tools.

Fleets can create segmented storage, elevated floors, racks, and more by sliding 2x4s or 2x6s into slots stamped into the side of the bed. There are two tie-downs, four D-rings, and built-in threaded holes in the sides to bolt in new creations.

The 4.5-foot bed can carry 1,500 pounds of payload, the equivalent of roughly 37 bags of 40-pound mulch, and has a six-foot floor with the tailgate down. Maverick can carry long and wide stuff, too, thanks to its multi-position tailgate. It opens normally, and has a halfway-open position – just unclip the support cables and hook them onto the latch pins so the tailgate lip and wheelhouses can support up to 18 sheets of 4x8-foot three-quarter-inch plywood without needing to angle the panels. It’s easy.

The tailgate features tie-down clamps and is rated to hold 500 pounds of workers taking a seat. According to Ford, the bed floor and sides are low, so almost any size adult can reach over and grab items off the floor.

Several added technology and safety options are available.

Power for Any Fleet

The 2.5L Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder hybrid powertrain delivers 191 horsepower when combined with the electric motor, and 155 lb.-ft. of torque mated to a continuously variable transmission driving the front wheels. It features an in-house-designed and manufactured electric traction motor.

Built Ford Tough durability and capability means 1,500 pounds of payload capacity – equal to 37 bags of 40-pound mulch; standard hybrid provides 2,000 pounds of towing, while the optional 2.0L EcoBoost gas engine and optional 4K tow package can tow up to 4,000 pounds, enough to haul most vocational fleet needs.

The 2.0L EcoBoost gas engine delivers 250 horsepower and 277 lb.-ft. of torque with an 8-speed automatic transmission and standard front-wheel drive or available all-wheel drive. 

Beyond DIY electrical, there are two available 110-volt 400-watt outlets – one in the bed and one in the cabin – that can power phones, laptops, small TVs, a cordless tool battery charger, or a small, corded tool like a jigsaw. There’s also a storage cubby built into the side of the bed on XLT and Lariat trucks, perfect for keeping a ball hitch or air pump.

The New Compact Pickup

The all-new Ford Maverick is a compact truck with a unibody design and the first pickup in America with a standard full-hybrid powertrain. Maverick comes as a standard five-passenger, four-door pickup, with a full-hybrid powertrain and a projected EPA-estimated rating of 40 mpg city fuel economy and 500 miles of range on a single tank of gas.

The truck features a wheelbase of 121.1 inches and features 33.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity. The truck's lift-in height is 30.1 inches and the pickup body length at the floor is 54.4 inches. 

Maverick is offered at three trim levels – XL, XLT, and Lariat. An FX4 package available for all-wheel-drive XLT and Lariat trucks adds more off-road capability with rugged all-terrain tires and suspension tuning, additional underbody protection, and off-road-focused drive modes like Mud/Rut and Sand, as well as the addition of Hill Descent Control.

The automaker is currently not commenting on upfits at this time.

The 2022 Ford Maverick goes on sale in Fall 2021.