The inaugural edition of the Japan Mobility Show (formerly known as the Tokyo Motor Show) is currently in full swing at the Tokyo Big Sight International Exhibition Center, where all Japanese automakers – big and small – are presented and accounted for.
While other traditional auto shows like GIMS (Geneva International Motor Show) or NAIAS (North American International Auto Show) are listed on the endangered species worksheet – one moved to Qatar and the other a shadow of its former self – it seems that JAMA's event is thriving. For example, before the 2021 cancelation due to the pandemic, the Tokyo Motor Show had more visitors than usual, and now that JMS is underway with the press days, the novelties flourished.
Among them, one of the prominent chiefs was Toyota, of course, who took out the big concept guns with stuff like the IMV 0 truck/van modular setup, Land Cruiser Se fully-electric off-road SUV, the FT-3e fully electric coupe-SUV, and the FT-Se sports car that gives us hopes of an electric MR2 GR revival. However, the one prototype that commanded everyone's attention – at least if they're pickup truck fans – was the unceremoniously named EPU compact unibody electric pickup truck.
If that model comes to series production, it will be something to be reckoned with in North America, where the Hyundai Santa Cruz and the best-selling Ford Maverick are the only current representatives of the compact unibody pickup truck sector. As such, maybe it's time the Blue Oval company took some kind of preemptive action – like thinking about a potential refresh of the Maverick nameplate.
In production since 2021 at the Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant in Mexico, the reinvented nameplate (formerly a compact car sold in North America and Brazil during the 1970s) has become extremely popular due to a combination of rugged charm, adaptive capability, and the option to buy it with a 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo mill or a hybrid powertrain.
The current 2024 model year is on sale with XL, XLT, and Lariat trims from $23,400, but now the 2.5-liter hybrid option has become marginally more expensive in the first two grades. Well, if the rumor mill has its way, the difference won't matter because everyone will seek to order the electrified option. And, of course, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators supports their vision – complete with virtual projections of the 2025 Ford Maverick things to come.
For example, according to the description, the AutomagzTV channel on YouTube calls itself as a 'webzine' dedicated to helping us "discover all new cars before anyone else." Well, this isn't exactly a car, but it's new and unseen before – after all, it's their vision of the refreshed 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid. Actually, some could say it's even suitable for a design project unofficially depicting the hypothetical looks of the next generation, but that one is too far on the distant horizon even to consider a discussion about it.
Instead, this interesting project showcases a Ford Maverick that would have no fear competing for the North American sales crown against Toyota's EPU electric unibody compact pickup truck if they ever met for a brawl. Besides, if you don't like the futuristic looks with big LEDs up front and a massive LED strip at the rear, the resident pixel master also proposes a second front fascia design that's more akin to the big F-Series. Cool, right?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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