How Ford's Maverick Became One Of Its Most Popular Trucks

When Henry Ford developed his magnificent Quadricycle in 1896, his very first car (to use the term rather loosely), complete with belt-and-chain system and armchair-esque seat, he started an automobile empire that would last over a century. As tends to be the case with the largest auto manufacturers, Ford's efforts extend far beyond cars alone.

The company certainly has a special touch with trucks too. The mighty F-Series, the Ford Media Center proudly crowed in a blog post at the time, became the United States' most popular truck for the 46th year running. The Ford Maverick, too, has performed incredibly well since it was first introduced.

The Maverick may be far from the largest or most powerful truck around, but that's exactly as intended. It was aimed at a specific niche in the market, and it was one that it seemed to slot into just perfectly. Let's take a closer look at this beloved smaller truck, and exactly why connoisseurs and pickup newcomers alike just couldn't resist snapping it up. Not everything Ford has created has been a success story — the infamous Edsel for instance — but this beauty was a real hit.

In January 2019, The Newswheel reported via Automotive News that Jim Farley, Ford's President of Global Markets, made some illuminating statements at the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference. "New nameplates below where we compete today" and "more affordable versions of our truck business" would be important elements of the company's strategy at the time, Farley stated. The new product Ford was working on to hit these notes? The Maverick.

Ford, of course, already had a successful Maverick to its name at this point. The original Ford Maverick was not a truck, but what a Schenectady Gazette ad of February 23, 1970 declared to be "America's best-selling small car ... Your Ford Dealer's lowest-priced car." The new pickup, too, would play on the less pricey, less fuel-hungry angle, and to great effect.

On June 3, 2021, Ford officially announced the existence of the Ford Maverick, confirming a big social media campaign, with actress Gabrielle Union as its face, would introduce it to the world five days later. The campaign, like the pickup itself, targeted younger, social-savvy customers, and this seems to have been one of the biggest factors in its success.

Of course, there's the fact that pickups are particularly popular with U.S. drivers. In August 2019, Experian noted that Wyoming and North Dakota were perhaps the most pickup-hungry states of all: 41% of all new vehicles bought there were pickups. The Maverick arrived as something of an entry-level, manageable, practical and more affordable pickup, but one that didn't compromise on build quality or performance.

This combination made it especially popular with younger drivers, and those that perhaps hadn't owned or considered owning a pickup before. In a 2021 Ford Authority interview, Trevor Scott, the Marketing Manager for the Maverick, explained the vehicle's winning formula and the reason for its name. According to him, it was aimed at "a younger customer ... very much after a more active lifestyle, and affordability is also strong with those customers." The pickup perfectly represented these youthful mavericks, said Scott, because "it's a pickup that delivers 40 miles per gallon."

With its fuel efficiency and low base price of $22,490 (achieved by using a clever blend of budget-friendly options like stamped steel), it's not very surprising that the Maverick went on to be something of a sales sensation, with 74,370 of them being purchased in 2022. After the beloved yet troubled-by-circumstances 2023 model, 2024's Maverick Hybrid, starting at $24,900, should also make an economical splash.