Photo: Ford
Ford has quite a long history with the Maverick nameplate. As far as Europe is concerned, some remember this badge as the compact-sized Escape. Earlier still, Nissan used this nameplate for the Terrano II.
Fast forward to the present day, and the world is a very different place. The Maverick came back as the Ford Motor Company’s compact pickup truck. A very tantalizing purchase because of the $19,995 starting price and a hybrid mill, the unibody trucklet sadly won’t be sold in the European Union.
Speaking to Automotive News, a representative made it clear that mid-size pickups are in freefall on the Old Continent. The Ranger may be the segment-leading truck with 43,000 sales to its name in 2020, but still, Ford couldn’t make a case for the brand-new Maverick in this part of the world.
Looking at the bigger picture, Ford could adapt the small pickup to European regulations rather easily thanks to Kuga underpinnings. The front- and all-wheel-drive crossover is manufactured at the Valencia Assembly Plant in Spain, and just like the Maverick, it can be had with a hybrid engine.
There is, however, a towering elephant in the room. Pickups may be on the decline in van-centric Europe, but sales figures for utility vehicles don’t match those of the United States either. The Kuga and Escape, for example, sold precisely 80,177 and 178,496 examples last year in the EU and U.S., respectively.
We also have to consider the X-Class line from Mercedes, a badge-engineered Nissan Navara discontinued after three years of production because adventure-oriented pickups aren’t en vogue in the European Union. Heck, even the Navara will be phased out from the EU at the end of the year because Nissan now focuses on more lucrative EVs.
Although the Maverick isn’t bound for this market, European customers need not worry because the Ranger will soldier on with all-new underpinnings. The 2023 model will switch to a similar ladder-frame chassis to the Bronco, and word has it that Ford will roll out a V6 in addition to the single- and twin-turbo EcoDiesel we know and love from the Raptor.
Speaking to Automotive News, a representative made it clear that mid-size pickups are in freefall on the Old Continent. The Ranger may be the segment-leading truck with 43,000 sales to its name in 2020, but still, Ford couldn’t make a case for the brand-new Maverick in this part of the world.
Looking at the bigger picture, Ford could adapt the small pickup to European regulations rather easily thanks to Kuga underpinnings. The front- and all-wheel-drive crossover is manufactured at the Valencia Assembly Plant in Spain, and just like the Maverick, it can be had with a hybrid engine.
There is, however, a towering elephant in the room. Pickups may be on the decline in van-centric Europe, but sales figures for utility vehicles don’t match those of the United States either. The Kuga and Escape, for example, sold precisely 80,177 and 178,496 examples last year in the EU and U.S., respectively.
We also have to consider the X-Class line from Mercedes, a badge-engineered Nissan Navara discontinued after three years of production because adventure-oriented pickups aren’t en vogue in the European Union. Heck, even the Navara will be phased out from the EU at the end of the year because Nissan now focuses on more lucrative EVs.
Although the Maverick isn’t bound for this market, European customers need not worry because the Ranger will soldier on with all-new underpinnings. The 2023 model will switch to a similar ladder-frame chassis to the Bronco, and word has it that Ford will roll out a V6 in addition to the single- and twin-turbo EcoDiesel we know and love from the Raptor.
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