Ford names its sub-$30,000 electric pickup the Fathom, starting at $28,350

Ford has named its long-awaited affordable electric pickup truck the Fathom, with pricing starting at $28,350 before a $1,595 destination fee, according to Electrek. The midsize truck is the first vehicle built on Ford's new Universal EV Platform and is scheduled to go on sale in early 2027, with pre-orders opening ahead of that.

Ford said it chose the name for its meaning — “to penetrate and come to understand” something once thought beyond reach — a nod to the engineering challenge of building a genuinely affordable, profitable EV at a moment when many automakers have pulled back from budget electric models. CEO Jim Farley has previously described the Universal EV Platform underpinning the Fathom as Ford's “Model T moment,” aiming to hold a roughly $30,000 price point.

What's Confirmed So Far

Every Fathom will ship with a large, high-resolution touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, BlueCruise hands-free highway driving, bidirectional charging, and a digital key. Ford says the truck will be the first vehicle with Apple Maps built directly into the dashboard, handling turn-by-turn navigation, EV-specific routing, and battery preconditioning — data Ford also plans to feed into BlueCruise for smoother highway driving.

The base configuration uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) structural battery pack sourced from Ford's BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan, paired with a single rear-mounted motor. Higher trims are expected to add a larger battery and an all-wheel-drive layout combining a high-output rear motor with a lower-output front motor. Ford hasn't published an official EPA range yet, but the company's emphasis on aerodynamics and efficiency points toward roughly 300 miles on the larger battery option. The truck will include a NACS charging port and is expected to offer more passenger volume than a Toyota RAV4, plus a front trunk in addition to its bed.

No Finished Design Yet

Ford has confirmed the name, price, platform, and feature set, but has not released official photos of the finished vehicle — any renderings currently circulating online are unofficial and speculative. Disguised prototypes have been spotted testing in public, including at a Tesla Supercharger last month, but the production design remains under wraps ahead of the vehicle's official debut.

Aiming at a Market Others Have Abandoned

The Fathom will be assembled at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky using simplified manufacturing techniques, including megacasting, intended to cut production costs. Ford is positioning the truck to compete directly with Chinese EV makers pushing into the sub-$30,000 segment globally, a price bracket most established automakers have avoided for electric pickups. As reported by Electrek, the pricing itself may be the least remarkable part of the pitch — the more significant claim is a compact truck with more interior volume than a compact SUV, at a price point competitors have largely written off as unprofitable.