Ford has put a name and a price on the first vehicle from its low-cost Universal EV platform. The midsize electric pickup will be called the Fathom and will start at $28,350, Ford said Aug. 6. With the $1,595 destination and delivery charge, the starting price is $29,945, meeting the roughly $30,000 target Ford had promised for the program.

Preorders open in early 2027, according to Ford's Fathom web page, and CNBC reported that customer deliveries are expected later in 2027. Ford has not released EPA range estimates, and it had not shown the production truck when it announced the name and price.

What Ford has confirmed

  • Starting MSRP of $28,350 with a standard-range battery, plus $1,595 for destination and delivery
  • Five seats, with projected passenger volume greater than a Toyota RAV4's
  • BlueCruise hands-free highway driving capability on every Fathom
  • Bidirectional power capability
  • A large touchscreen with navigation powered by Apple Maps, plus a standard digital key, Ford app remote control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
  • Assembly at Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky using Ford's new assembly tree process, CNBC reported

Why the price matters

The Fathom arrives in a market that has lost its biggest purchase subsidy. The federal EV tax credit of up to $7,500 expired at the end of September 2025, and Cox Automotive data show the average new EV sold for $54,754 in August 2026. The Fathom's starting price is roughly $25,000 below that figure, although an average transaction price includes options and higher trims that a base MSRP does not.

It also gives Ford a lower-priced electric truck after the end of the F-150 Lightning, whose sales fell 97.1% in the third quarter as it was discontinued, CNBC reported.

The business case

Ford is counting on the platform to turn around its electric business. CNBC reported that Ford has called the Universal EV platform key to bringing its Model e unit, which has lost billions of dollars a year, to breakeven by 2029, and that the company wants each vehicle on the platform to be profitable within a year of launch. "We are confident that we have the best cost platform and are focused on the right market," a Ford spokesperson told CNBC.

The losses are still large. Model e posted a $919 million EBIT loss on $1.0 billion of revenue in the second quarter, and Ford expects a full-year Model e loss of about $4 billion, which includes roughly $1 billion of added investment in the Universal EV platform and Ford Energy, mostly in the second half of the year.

The batteries will come from Michigan. In June, Ford's BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall assembled its first full lithium iron phosphate prismatic cells, which Ford says will power the affordable midsize electric truck. LFP cells use no nickel or cobalt, which lowers cost and simplifies the supply chain.

What it means for buyers

The Fathom is the clearest sign yet that a mainstream automaker will sell a new electric pickup for less than the average compact SUV, which Kelley Blue Book put at $37,722 in August. Key details are still missing, including range, charging speed, towing and payload ratings, and trim pricing above the base model. Ford is taking sign-ups for updates now; preorders begin early next year.