Once again, the Ford Motor Company's Escape-based Maverick proves that affordability matters a lot in the compact pickup truck segment. Q3 2024 sales in the United States totaled 31,883 units, of which 16,561 examples were specified as hybrids.
This, in turn, means that Maverick Hybrid is the second best-selling hybrid truck in the United States after the F-150 PowerBoost, with the half-ton model netting 20,129 deliveries in the past quarter. Combined, the Maverick Hybrid and F-150 PowerBoost accounted for 77% of the hybrid pickup segment from July through September 2024.
The only other hybrid trucks available stateside as of this writing are Toyota Tacoma i-FORCE MAX and Tundra i-FORCE MAX from Toyota. Although they share the i-FORCE MAX designation, bear in mind the mid-size truck is a four-pot turbo affair versus a twin-turbo V6 for the half-tonner.
Turning our attention back to unibody compact pickups, the only other truck that fits this description is the Santa Cruz from Hyundai. Quite a bit pricier than the Maverick, the Tucson-styled truck couldn't do better than 7,226 units, which is 20 percent worse than the 9,033 sold in the third quarter of last year. The year-to-date figures are pretty damning as well, with Hyundai reporting 25,171 versus 29,083 deliveries.
Although not a compact, we should also mention the aging Ridgeline from Honda. The mid-size truck moved 13,112 units in the past three months in the US market, with Honda claiming that it's the best Q3 ever for the Pilot- and Passport-twinned pickup. While that may be 8.0 percent better from Q3 2023, the year-to-date volumes tell a different story. More specifically, Ridgeline contracted from 39,568 deliveries in the first nine months of 2023 to 33,034 this year.
Photo: Ford
The question is, what did you expect from a unibody midsizer that costs way more than a more capable body-on-frame truck? Honda advertises the 2025 model with standard all-wheel drive and V6 muscle at $40,150 before destination charge, whereas a Chevrolet Colorado will set you back $29,800 at the very least. A more appropriate comparison would be against the LT 4WD grade, with Chevy asking $35,500 plus $1,595 freight.
Regarding the Santa Cruz versus Maverick rivalry, almost five grand separate the base trims. Hyundai lists the refreshed 2025 model at $28,500 excluding taxes, while Ford's 2024 model year Maverick is $23,920 for the XL EcoBoost with front-wheel drive. For the 2025 model year, on the other hand, the difference is much smaller. Both the hybrid and turbo are $26,295 following the mid-cycle refresh, which is $2,205 more affordable than the Santa Cruz with the naturally aspirated 2.5er and front drive.
What boggles the mind is that Hyundai couldn't make a case for a hybrid powertrain in the Santa Cruz. Not only does the compact truck feature the front-biased N3 platform of the Tucson and Santa Fe, which can be had as hybrids, but Hyundai didn't pay attention to how successful the Maverick Hybrid is compared to its EcoBoost-powered sibling.
With the Maverick primed to sell approximately 145,000 units in 2024, that should be a wake-up call for truck-making brands. With consumers putting a stronger emphasis on affordability and fuel economy than ever before, automakers who don't cater to these needs will inevitably lose market share.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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