Ford’s $30,000 Answer to Slate’s EV Truck is Apparently Not Really A Pickup

The Dearborn automaker is even going as far as calling it a “Model T Moment” with its new, supposedly affordable small EV.

Blue Ford Maverick truck tailgate with black Ford emblem and black handle.

By Chris Chin

Published 3 hours ago

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Ford is seemingly doubling down on its pitch for an affordable electric truck…sort of. In a recent investor meeting, CEO Jim Farley presented and elaborated on the Dearborn automaker’s latest “Ford Universal EV Platform.”

In the presentation, Farley went into detail to explain that the automaker is working on a new pickup-esque EV that will favor utilitarian capabilities while leveraging performance, and feature one of Ford’s most tech-forward interiors yet. But more so, it should cost around $30,000.

2025 Ford Universal EV Platform Slide — Ford briefly teased its new EV pickup during an investor meeting.

Given those details, it sounds like Ford will beat Jeff Bezo’s Slate truck to the affordable pickup punch.

However, while the bodystyle term, pickup, keeps getting used, Farley himself went on to say that it’s not quite exactly that.

Ford’s “Model T Moment” is “not really a pickup”

Green Ford pickup truck towing a silver Airstream trailer on a highway with trees and cloudy sky. — The Ford Maverick is a small pickup that bucks the full-size trend.

According to Farley, who continued the conversation on a podcast episode with The Verge, the new vehicle isn’t “really a pickup,” but rather, a new shape that happens to feature a pickup truck bed. He also described it as having more room than a Toyota RAV4.

“Our first body style will be a pickup, but it’s really not a pickup. I would say it’s a new silhouette,” Farley explained.

Blue Ford electric pickup truck parked in a narrow alley with graffiti-covered brick walls and a bicycle on the right. — Rumors suggest the new electric pickup could be similar in size to the Maverick.

“What I mean by that is that it has more room than a RAV4, the best-selling passenger car in the U.S. That doesn’t include its frunk and pickup truck bed,” Farley continued. “It is very fast, it’s rear-wheel-drive, it’s super fun to drive, and it has a digital experience that no one’s seen— even in China.”

It sounds ambiguous. But such descriptions point to more car-like pickups, such as the Hyundai Santa Cruz, the old Subaru Baja, and in larger scale, the Honda Ridgeline.

Two modern Hyundai pickup trucks are parked on a flat paved surface in a desert landscape during sunset. The truck on the left is red, and the one on the right is silver-gray. Both vehicles have a bold front grille design with horizontal LED headlights and black wheel arches. Mountains and sparse desert vegetation are visible in the background. — The Hyundai Santa Cruz is a perfect example of a car-based pickup.

Such vehicles are called pickups because they feature an rear open bed. It is one of the distinctive aspects that defines the bodystyle. However, examples like the Santa Cruz and the Ridgeline defy the conventional pickup truck construction.

That’s because traditional pickups utilize truck-based body-on-frame ladder chassis. Think Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Ram 1500, so-on. The Santa Cruz and Ridgeline, however, use car-based monocoques.

red ford electric pickup truck kicks up sand in the desert — Conventional full-size pickups, like the F-150, utilize more rugged ladder frames.

While the truck-based ladder frames are often more rugged and capable, the car-based pickups still offer elevated levels of practicality over other bodystyles.

In an earlier conference a couple of months ago, Farley described this new vehicle as a huge breakthrough for the brand. He likened it to being a modern “Model T moment.”

Ford could be taking inspiration from Australia

White Holden SS utility pickup truck with black grille and alloy wheels on a white background. — The Australian Holden Ute is one of the most unique bodystyles to ever exist.

Another alternative to the small, car-like pickup is what our friends down yonder call a “ute.” It’s basically a normal sedan body.

But instead of three-box shape with four doors and a traditional trunk, the door count shrinks to two, and a rear open bed takes their place.

Dark purple classic Chevrolet El Camino pickup truck with chrome trim and hubcaps in an indoor showroom. — General Motors sold a car-based pickup called the El Camino for decades.

Some examples include the Ford Falcon Ute and the Holden Ute.

While none of these “utes” were sold in the States, Ford and even General Motors used to sell more car-like pickups in the past.

Red and yellow 1979 Ford Ranchero parked in front of a building with two men near the driver's side door. — The Ford Ranchero was Dearborn’s answer to Chevy’s El Camino.

Between 1957 and 1979, Ford sold the Ranchero, a car-based pickup spun off of the original Fairlane full-size two-door sedan. On the opposite side of town, Chevrolet sold the similar El Camino.

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