The Ford Maverick has finally been revealed, and with a fully-loaded version barely topping $40,000, it seems like great value. In all honesty, we weren't expecting it to be revealed as a hybrid, but it makes sense and we can't fault the truck based on the figures it promises - 40 mpg is impressive no matter how it's achieved. But the plans for Ford's cheapest vehicle in the US don't stop there. CEO Jim Farley has spoken with The New York Times and said that he "could envision Ford producing a family of Maverick variants, including an electric model." Not much more was said, but we can tell a lot from that simple quote.

Ford has already confirmed that the Ranger will go electric, and we have a Raptor version of that vehicle too. What Farley's words suggest is that the Raptor and Lightning names are likely to lend themselves to more than just the F-150 and Ranger going forward, and the Maverick seems like a great base for the Raptor treatment. As our render above suggests, the Maverick works well as an EV too. It would be one of the cheapest electric trucks so far too, as the F-150 Lightning starts at under $40k, and the Maverick Lightning, if that's what it ends up being named, could be as much as $10k cheaper.

Ford's biggest challenge with an electric Maverick would be to offer reasonable range and performance without stepping on the toes of bigger vehicles like the Ranger and F-150. With that in mind, we predict between 250 and 300 miles of range, with at least as much as the available 2.0-liter EcoBoost from the normal Maverick. 320 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque would be a reasonable estimate and would put the Maverick EV comfortably below our estimates for the electric Ranger while still being enough to make the smaller truck practical and powerful enough to attract new customers. We'll have to wait for more info, but expect to see the Maverick EV within the next three-five years.