Today, Ford introduced three interesting new concepts. An inexpensive new crew cab EV pickup for 2027, the Ford Universal EV Platform, and the Ford Universal EV Production System. They all relate together and, conceptually, are pretty cool ideas.

The new truck’s specs and capability, including range, are TBA. While the truck’s officially described as “mid-sized” in a press release, the company’s representatives described it as having “the footprint of a Maverick,” but with more interior room and volume, at a virtual press conference. For context, the Mav is about 200 inches long and 73 inches wide (78 counting the mirrors, folded).

It’s also not slated to replace the Maverick. “We believe there’s room for both,” Ford COO Kumar Galhotra said, when asked if this new vehicle would kill the gas Maverick. I guess we can also take that as a confirmation that Maverick is expected to still be around in two years. It was also indicated that the new EV pickup would have BlueCruise capability. This new machine will be made at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky, where big changes in manufacturing techniques are afoot.


Ford manufacturing plan. Ford’s new EVs will be built in three separate parts that are merged before final assembly. Ford

The truck (and other vehicles that will share its platform) will have a 400-volt architecture and be powered by a lithium-iron phosphate battery made at Ford’s wholly-owned BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan. It will be a software-defined vehicle, and the automaker plans to offer continuous improvements through over-the-air updates once it’s on the road.