Ford targets budget EV pickup market with $28,350 Fathom slated for 2027 launch
Ford plans to introduce the Fathom, a compact electric pickup priced at $28,350, in 2027, aiming to leverage its low-cost platform despite a nascent U.S. market segment.
Ford announced that its upcoming compact electric pickup, the Fathom, will be priced at $28,350 and is scheduled for release in 2027. The model is built on the company’s new Universal Electric Vehicle platform, which Ford says will underpin a range of future electric vehicles and help offset the estimated $5 billion development cost.
Ivan Drury, director of consumer insights at Edmunds, told CNN that the vehicle’s small footprint carries “huge” implications for the market. A Ford spokesperson, Emma Bergg, described the Fathom as “a big bet for Ford, for sure.”
The Fathom follows Ford’s earlier electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning, which faced price increases and modest sales before production ended in December 2025. Analysts compare the Fathom to the Maverick, a gasoline and hybrid compact pickup that sells for about $28,145 and recorded roughly 155,000 units sold last year.
Despite the removal of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit in late 2023, U.S. electric-vehicle sales rose 15 percent from the first to the second quarter of this year, according to industry data. Ford CEO Jim Farley has indicated that rising fuel prices are reinforcing the company’s focus on lower-priced models.
The Fathom will feature a large touchscreen, an optional battery pack delivering over 300 miles of range, and standard hardware for Ford’s BlueCruise driver-assist system. Bergg emphasized that the vehicle’s affordability stems from manufacturing efficiencies rather than cost-cutting measures that affect the customer experience.