Ford
If you were eagerly anticipating cracking open your wallet and plunking down some cash for a brand-new Ford Maverick, you’ll soon have to wait. Ford is suspending orders for the pickup later this month because it cannot keep up with buyer demand.
Ford said that it’s hitting pause on new Maverick retail orders because it’s working to keep up with overwhelming customer demand—for both the hybrid and EcoBoost models—thus far, a Ford spokesperson confirmed to The Drive. The automaker has decided it will stop taking orders on 2022 Mavericks beginning after Jan. 27 “to focus on existing orders” and won’t pick them up again until the summer for 2023 Mavericks. Consider this your deadline if you were thinking about pulling the trigger.
It’s unclear if supply chain issues, such as the chip shortage, have anything to do with this—the spokesperson declined to specify—but Ford will “continue to build and ship [Mavericks] to our customers as quickly as possible,” they told us. Orders submitted prior to that Jan. 27 deadline will continue to be a scheduling priority for the remainder of 2022 model-year production depending on parts and supply availability.
I’m willing to bet a (very) large part of the Maverick’s popularity has to do with its very agreeable pricing. With a total base vehicle price of just around $20,000, it’s an extremely attractive proposition, especially coming from a manufacturer that killed off its smaller and more affordable cars just a few years back. Where else are people supposed to turn (besides the used market, which itself is also going nuts)?
“We didn’t want to take more orders than we could build,” Ford trucks general manager, Dean Stoneley, told The Wall Street Journal. “We’re getting customers who would have perhaps bought a used car and are now buying the Maverick because it is so affordable.”
Closing the doors on customer orders—even if temporarily—is atypical, Chris Lemley, the president of a Ford-Lincoln-Mazda dealership in the Boston area told the outlet. “But it’s appropriate under the circumstances to avoid customer disappointment.” I don’t know about you, but if I were a customer, I’d find this whole situation disappointing.
Deliveries of the 2022 Maverick EcoBoost models started in mid-September, while hybrid deliveries followed in late November. Through the end of December, Ford sold 13,258 Mavericks. The pickup “is in tight supply and turning on dealer lots in just four days,” according to the spokesperson.
When Ford starts taking orders of the Maverick again this summer, it will be for the 2023 model year. If you miss the Jan. 27 deadline, you can still send all your info through Ford’s website so you’ll stay in the loop on when you can order your truck, the spokesperson said. But if you find one on your local dealer lot as orders are delivered—or if a customer backs out of their order—that truck is fair game. You’ll just have to act fast.
Keyword: All Ford Maverick Orders To Be Suspended Until Summer