A new pickup from Ford Motor Co. began rolling off assembly lines at the Dearborn, Mich. automaker's Hermosillo plant in Mexico last month, according to production data reported to shareholders this week.
The news was first reported by CNBC. The new product -- dubbed C-Pick Up and expected to be called Maverick -- appeared in a plant-by-plant production report accompanying the automaker's monthly U.S. sales figures. The truck is being produced at the same plant where Ford's new Bronco Sport is built.
According to the production data, just 21 C-Pick Up units were built last month. Ford spokesman Mike Levine declined to comment beyond what's in the production report. It's long been anticipated by industry observers that Ford would introduce a compact, affordably-priced pickup sometime this year.
AutoForecast Solutions, a global automotive forecasting firm, expects the Hermosillo-built truck to use the same platform and some of the same powertrain components as the Bronco Sport but feature different styling, according to Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting.
The firm expects the truck to be smaller than the midsize Ford Ranger pickup. It's likely to feature a unibody frame, four-cylinder engine, front- and all-wheel drive options, and eventually to have a hybrid version.
The truck is expected to go into full production in July. That units are being built now indicates the automaker is testing the product on the assembly line, Fiorani said, and would likely ramp up production this summer.
He expects the truck to be sold in North and South America, including in the U.S., and to eventually reach more than 100,000 units of production per year.
"We're expecting it to be priced below the Ranger, it [having] smaller engines and [being] lighter duty," he said. "It's more of a lifestyle vehicle. We're not expecting it to show up on construction sites."
Industry analysts say there is plenty of room in the market for a more affordable offering, as the average price for a new vehicle in the U.S. hovers around $40,000.
"There's a market for a low-priced, smaller, but highly flexible and functional pickup truck," said Karl Brauer, executive analyst for iSeeCars.com. "And I don't think anyone is making a vehicle for that -- so whoever does it first will own that market."
The Ranger's starting price is about $25,000, while the lowest trim level of the latest model year of the F-150 is just under $29,000. But with various add-ons and more luxury-oriented trim levels, those prices can quickly climb.
Ford CEO Jim Farley, upon stepping into the job in October, identified affordable vehicles as a key growth strategy.