Ford’s Planning An Entry-Level Pickup Under $20,000
When you start hacking away at your product lineup you have less to sell. Having less to offer means less you’re making less money. That is unless you can raise the price of what you have left. Or, you can replace that product with another, better one. Ford’s future is either trucks or SUVs. So you’re going to see a lot of truck and SUV variations like what Ford just revealed at a dealer event in Tucson last month. According to dealers quizzed about it, Ford is developing an entry-level small pickup for under $20,000.
The entry-level pickup will be based on the European Focus unibody platform
According to Automotive News, it’s supposed to be a slab-sided utilitarian look. If it’s what we have seen in spy photos it will be a four-door with a long pickup box. This may be the only combination available to keep a lid on costs. It will ride on a unibody platform like the one underpinning the European Focus. For that reason, front-wheel-drive will be standard with all-wheel-drive optional. A 2.0-liter four-cylinder will be backed up by an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Because of the platform, you can expect the pickup to have car-like dimensions. Just as the EcoSport is Ford’s entry-level SUV, this would be the same for the pickup segment. Ford’s dealers are concerned about attracting entry-level customers so this should help on that front.
The small pickup will be built in Mexico
The 100 or so dealers were told that assembly will take place at Ford’s Hermosillo, Mexico, plant. Right now that plant manufacturers Ford’s Fusion and Lincoln MKZ. This is the last year those two will be manufactured. Ford says it expects to sell 100,000 of these trucks a year, but not all of that will come from the US. It will be sold in other countries too.
We know that Canada, Latin America, and possibly overseas are likely candidates for the truck. Expect to see it in showrooms at the end of 2021. The current Ranger list price starts at $24,410 so this truck codenamed P758 will be about $5,000 less. Once a new Ranger shows up expect the price differential to be even greater as one of the main points for this is to keep it under $20,000.
There will also be a Bronco pickup by 2024
One other noteworthy tidbit from the presentation is that there will be a Bronco-based pickup out by 2024. As we said, there will be multiple variations of pickups and SUVs in Ford’s future. So this under-$20,000 compact pickup, then the Ranger, F-150, and Super Duty will all cover a lot of pickup bases. Where the Bronco pickup fits into this lineup is uncertain right now.
As we find out more about P758 we’ll pass it along.
