The Ford Maverick was the automotive platinum record of 2022. Ford built the first genuine compact truck a domestic automaker had attempted in a decade and sold out of the first year’s production. It then sold out of the second year’s production even faster.
Rivals have noticed.
Trade publication Automotive News reports that General Motors “could enter the baby pickup market with an electric entry smaller than the Ford Maverick and the Hyundai Santa Cruz.”
AN saw marketing images of what it describes as a “futuristic and sporty” 2-door electric truck “with a 4- to 4.5-foot-long bed and a low roofline.”
The truck reportedly wore no badges, so AN’s reporter left unsure what brands might sell it. But GM sells more trucks under the Chevrolet name than its GMC sibling.
The fact that the truck is electric would give it an interesting market niche against the hybrid-powered Maverick and all-gas Santa Cruz. But affordability might be a problem. GM has plans to bring out an all-electric 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV with a price tag near $30,000. But it’s unclear whether the company could keep up with the $22,195 starting price of Ford’s small truck.
But GM has plenty of experience building compact pickups like the ones pictured in this article. It still sells them. Just not in its home market. Its Chevrolet S 10 Max pickup, currently sold in Mexico, is about the same size as the Maverick. Its Montana small truck, sold in Brazil and parts of Latin America, is smaller.
