Toyota’s Ford Maverick Rival Is Absolutely Happening

The Ford Maverick has enjoyed tremendous success since launching for the 2022 model year, which makes it somewhat surprising that other automakers – aside from Hyundai and its Santa Cruz – continue to ignore the red-hot compact pickup market. However, rumors have long suggested that Toyota has been considering adding a compact pickup to its lineup as well, though the automaker has apparently wavered a bit on that decision. Now, another new report suggests that a Ford Maverick rival is indeed coming from Toyota, but this time, it’s based on comments from an actual executive at the company.

This report comes to us from MotorTrend, which reports that Toyota will indeed add a compact pickup to its lineup in the near future, one that slots beneath the mid-size Tacoma, seen here. In fact, Cooper Ericksen, Toyota Motor North America’s head of planning and strategy, confirmed this by saying that “decisions have been made. “The question is when we can slot it in. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ at this point.”

As far as timing goes, this new Ford Maverick fighter likely won’t be ready for roughly two years (fall 2027, according to this report), but Toyota estimates that it could sell upwards of 100,000-150,000 units annually, regardless. It’s unclear what the new model will be named, but Ericksen confirmed that it will ride on a unibody platform that’s a variant of the existing TNGA architecture, with a hybrid powertrain option and an estimated price tag of $30,000 – though a lot can change in two years.

Regardless, the Ford Maverick, Santa Cruz, and this future Toyota model likely won’t be the only compact pickups on sale in the U.S. by 2027, either. Rather, the all-electric Slate Auto pickup is expected to also debut around that same time, though it’ll be significantly shorter than the Maverick and only offered in single cab guise (though it can also be converted to an SUV). Additionally, Ram is reportedly considering a Maverick rival of its own.