DEARBORN (WWJ) -- There’s something new from Ford, and it's an indication of how important pickup trucks have become in the auto industry.
WWJ’s Jeff Gilbert reports that the Ford Maverick, set to be unveiled next week, will be a compact pickup -- smaller than the current Ford Ranger.
Carmakers abandoned the compact pickup segment about a decade ago, but LMC Automotive analyst Jeff Schuster says the market is ready for a vehicle like the Maverick.
“It makes a lot of sense, especially when you factor in the movement away from those entry points into new vehicles, which would be the compact cars,” Schuster said.
Schuster sees compact utilities and pickups as the new entry-level vehicles, and he expects other carmakers to follow Ford into the compact pickup segment.
Some analysts expect the Maverick, which will be released online next week, to start around $20,000.
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