- Ford's new affordable electric truck will be called the Fathom.
- The Fathom will be available to pre-order in early 2027 and will cost $29,945.
- Ford says the small truck will have as much passenger space as a Toyota RAV4, and every Fathom will be capable of employing the BlueCruise hands-free driver assistance system.
Last fall, Ford announced a new architecture, dubbed the Universal EV platform, that will underpin a series of new affordable electric models, starting with a small pickup truck. Since then, we've been drip-fed information about this upcoming truck, which we had speculated would revive the Ranchero name after Ford filed a trademark for that moniker. But now we've learned that Ford is going a different direction, officially announcing today that the truck will be called the Fathom, as well as its expected starting price, which crucially comes in under $30,000.
Ford says it took the company nine months to settle on a name. Fathom has a couple of meanings. In a nautical sense, a fathom is a unit of measurement, equivalent to six feet, used for the depth of water. More metaphorically, fathom means to come to understand, usually after some time and deep, purposeful thinking.
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Ford says that it considered reviving historic names—even explicitly mentioning the Ranchero—but decided that these names all carried "a specific implication, one that might not fit our new electric truck." Instead, the company chose "Fathom" from a list of hundreds of other names, claiming that the name is meant to "communicate an emotional feeling of a vehicle that’s more than it appears to be." Ford also claimed the name "had to capture a mindset, shifting the focus from specs to a spirit of adaptability."
Marketing fluff aside, Ford also revealed more key details about the truck before its reveal, likely coming either late this year or early next year. The most important metric for this truck will be the price, and Ford says the Fathom will start at $29,945. That keeps it under the $30,000 estimate that the company had previously announced it was targeting, and makes it $45 less expensive than a base 2026 Maverick.
Ford says this price tag will be for the standard-range battery, implying that there will be an optional larger battery to provide even more driving distance on a single charge. While Ford continues to refer to the Fathom as a mid-size truck, we expect it to actually slot into the compact truck segment with an overall size similar to the Maverick.
Still, Ford claims the Fathom will have more interior space than a Toyota RAV4, with seating for five. Ford also revealed that it will feature a large touchscreen, a digital key function, bidirectional power capability, and a frunk. Every Fathom will also be capable of the BlueCruise hands-free driver assistance function, and will come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ford says pre-orders will open in early 2027.
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Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.