But how much will the dealer markup be?
Ford’s confirmation that the new Fathom electric truck would start at under $30,000 has already stirred up enthusiasm for buyers looking for an affordable truck. But that’s for the base model. Presumably the plusher trims you’d actually want to buy would be a ton more money? Not according to one Ford executive, who just told reporters that even the most luxurious Fathom trim would come in below $40,000.
The Fathom lineup starts at $29,945 including $1,595 destination, and it will top out in “the high $30,000 range,” Andrew Frick, head of the Blue Oval’s Ford Model e electric division, told the Detroit Free Press. That pricing span makes the Fathom look incredibly appealing at a time when the average EV sells for $62,900 in the U.S., and Ford is counting on its new truck to have appeal beyond EV enthusiasts.
“It’s not just the EV market, it’s actually opening us up to a massive total addressable market,” Frick told the newspaper. “We expect Fathom…to attract new and used EV buyers, but also (gasoline) and hybrid customers, especially because we’re going to have much lower operating costs than even a mainstream hybrid vehicle.”
Unlike Slate’s rival electric pickup, which has manual window winders and no touchscreen in its most basic form, the Fathom will be fairly well equipped. Every model should get a touchscreen with built-in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driving assistant will be available, though probably only via subscription. Higher spec versions will naturally get more equipment, and possibly more power and range, though Ford’s playing it’s spec cards close to its chest for now.
Roomy as a RAV4, faster than a GR Corolla
The 2028 Ford Fathom is expected to go on sale in late 2027, and while many technical details haven’t been revealed yet, Ford has already promised the unibody pickup will have a five-passenger configuration and as much passenger space as a Toyota RAV4. On top of that, the targeted 4.5-second zero to 60 mph (97 kph) time makes it almost 0.5 seconds faster than a Toyota GR Corolla hot hatch.
The Fathom will be the first model to be built on Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, which employs some radical (for Ford) construction technology and production techniques to cut build times and costs. Following Tesla’s lead, this platform features two giant aluminum castings that replace what would be 146 individual parts in a conventional steel body shell. The truck is expected to feature 400-volt electrics, rather than the 800-volts you get on today’s fastest charging hybrids. That suggests a 10-80% charge time may be closer to 30 minutes than 20, though we’re making educated guesses here because the exact charge rate, the size of the battery, and the EPA range estimate are all still unknown outside of Ford.
Ford is also using a unique build process for the Fathom, where it will be built in three sections at Ford’s Louisville Assembly plant in Kentucky instead of running down a single production line. The separate sections are built simultaneously, only meeting up toward the end of the entire build process. More vehicles, including SUVs, one of which could be the next Ford Escape, will be created over the next few years, using the same UEV platform and production method.
