Ford Maverick Based Van Still Happening, Production Set For 2028

[rmc523]

Ford Maverick Based Van Still Happening, Production Set For 2028

 

Just over one year ago, a report surfaced containing all sorts of interesting information as it pertains to future Blue Oval products – one that stemmed from a meeting that the automaker held with its dealer network. At that meeting, Ford reportedly showed off a number of potential future models to dealers via renderings, photos, and mock-ups, including quite a few potential Ford Mustang variants. However, those dealers were also shown something else that’s rather interesting – a small van based on the Ford Maverick compact pickup, which is apparently still on track to reach production.

At that time, a physical prototype of this Ford Maverick based van was actually pushed on stage, after which the automaker informed dealers that it was slated to debut as early as 2025.

Now, according to a new report from Automotive News, the Maverick van will debut a bit later than previously expected, however.

Now, the Ford Maverick based van – code-named V758 – is expected to enter production in 2028, and it will apparently do so with both traditional gas and hybrid powertrains and styling that mimics its pickup counterpart. The new van will reportedly be built alongside the Ford Maverick and Ford Bronco Sport at the Hermosillo Assembly plant in Mexico, too.

 

 

I'm a bit confused by this report, as I thought we were getting a BEV van based off the new EV platform?  But this implies that the gas/hybrid van will also be coming??

I guess Ford is hedging its bets in the commercial sector?

[Rick73]

In that van size range Ford already has the Transit Custom which shares most of hybrid powertrain with Maverick.  As previously discussed why not just use that award-winning and bestselling design? 🤔 

 

Interesting timing of this thread in that Ford is currently releasing at Caravan Salon in Germany the latest Transit Custom Nugget camper van made by Westfalia.  It’s essentially the long wheelbase Transit Custom mid-size van with a hard-sided fiberglass raised roof.  It’s being promoted as a winter-capable camper compared to their other models using a pop-up roof with canvas sides.  Downside is that it’s too tall to be garageable and also consumes more fuel than pop-up variants.  Regardless, potential is very promising.

 

i know RVs are small volume compared to commercial applications, but this new Nugget model shows how versatile the Transit Custom is.  If Ford is indeed developing a Maverick van instead they must be looking to make it much cheaper.
 

 

[bzcat]

My guess is the delay was due to strong demands for Bronco Sport and Maverick which means Ford didn't need the van volume to maintain production efficiency.

 

2028 timing also suggest it maybe based on the next gen C2 instead of current gen. Bronco Sport Mk2 should be out by that time as well. 

 

 

 

[jpd80]

Rick73, Transit customer at 79” wide  is larger than Transit Connect based Maverick (72.5”)

So what Ford is looking to do is sell a Transit Connect sized van with Maverick front end.

[blazerdude20]

Very exciting. Hopefully it’s closer to the size of the long wheel base TC. The short wheel base was SO short. 

[Trader 10]

4 hours ago, bzcat said:

My guess is the delay was due to strong demands for Bronco Sport and Maverick which means Ford didn't need the van volume to maintain production efficiency.

 

2028 timing also suggest it maybe based on the next gen C2 instead of current gen. Bronco Sport Mk2 should be out by that time as well. 

 

 

 

Bronco Sport demand hasn’t been that strong. Escape is outselling it. 

[akirby]

3 hours ago, Trader 10 said:

Bronco Sport demand hasn’t been that strong. Escape is outselling it. 

Escape is cheaper and BS has no hybrids.

[Rick73]

10 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Rick73, Transit customer at 79” wide  is larger than Transit Connect based Maverick (72.5”)

So what Ford is looking to do is sell a Transit Connect sized van with Maverick front end.

Perhaps that’s the best solution but I still think a van that narrow will have limited appeal and market success in North America.  And if it looks like a pickup with a van body tacked on like the hideous Nissan full-size vans, Ford should probably cancel it and save the required investment.

 

Related to this, GM is rumored to be working with Hyundai on a new EV van smaller than BrightDrop for NA, and it would not surprise me at all if they (Chevy and or Hyundai) also offer ICE and or hybrid powertrain variants.  I have not seen any design details at all, but would expect a new van to be at least as large as the Hyundai Staria or previous Starex.  Those are much wider than Maverick, and closer to Transit Custom, which by the way are all in same width range as Honda, Toyota and Stellantis minivans.  I understand the hope for a Transit Connect direct replacement but personally don’t see enough demand because of its small interior size.  As long as Ford makes new van small and light enough to work with 4-cylinder hybrid powertrain I suppose it’s better than nothing. 👍 

 

Possible future competition from GM/Hyundai collaboration?  Perhaps similar to this?

 

[jpd80]

9 hours ago, Rick73 said:

Perhaps that’s the best solution but I still think a van that narrow will have limited appeal and market success in North America.  And if it looks like a pickup with a van body tacked on like the hideous Nissan full-size vans, Ford should probably cancel it and save the required investment.

Or just build the North American version of Transit Connect…the biggest impediment with

the previous TC was no high roof option - that is what really hurt sales.

 

 

9 hours ago, Rick73 said:

Related to this, GM is rumored to be working with Hyundai on a new EV van smaller than BrightDrop for NA, and it would not surprise me at all if they (Chevy and or Hyundai) also offer ICE and or hybrid powertrain variants.  I have not seen any design details at all, but would expect a new van to be at least as large as the Hyundai Staria or previous Starex.  Those are much wider than Maverick, and closer to Transit Custom, which by the way are all in same width range as Honda, Toyota and Stellantis minivans.  I understand the hope for a Transit Connect direct replacement but personally don’t see enough demand because of its small interior size.  As long as Ford makes new van small and light enough to work with 4-cylinder hybrid powertrain I suppose it’s better than nothing. 👍 

 

Possible future competition from GM/Hyundai collaboration?  Perhaps similar to this?

the third vehicle on CE1 is supposed to be a van being sponsored by Ford Pro. Now if that is true,

it will be much wider than Transit Connect but not quite as wide as Transit Custom which is about 

the same width as RWD Transit. And the reason Transit Custom was not sold in US is to maximise

sales of RWD Transit.

Edited August 30, 2025 by jpd80

[akirby]

1 hour ago, jpd80 said:

Or just build the North American version of Transit Connect…the biggest impediment with

the previous TC was no high roof option - that is what really hurt sales.

 

 

the third vehicle on CE1 is supposed to be a van being sponsored by Ford Pro. Now if that is true,

it will be much wider than Transit Connect but not quite as wide as Transit Custom which is about 

the same width as RWD Transit. And the reason Transit Custom was not sold in US is to maximise

sales of RWD Transit.

How do you know the width of a CE1 van?

[jpd80]

24 minutes ago, akirby said:

How do you know the width of a CE1 van?

Whoops..this is getting sticky but let’s just say that

CE1 products are mid -sized as in bigger than compact but smaller than full size.

Edited August 30, 2025 by jpd80

[twintornados]

12 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Whoops..this is getting sticky but let’s just say that

CE1 products are mid -sized as in bigger than compact but smaller than full size.

 

[Harley Lover]

On 8/29/2025 at 5:34 PM, bzcat said:

My guess is the delay was due to strong demands for Bronco Sport and Maverick which means Ford didn't need the van volume to maintain production efficiency.

 

Could it also be availability of drivetrains? With Escape ending production, Ford now have access to hybrid batteries, trannys, and Atkinson cycle engines to be reassigned elsewhere in the Ford line up (same for the Ecoboost engines used in Escape). If one assumes that Ford is to some extent capacity constrained in the drivetrain arena (especially on the hybrid drivetrains), then a nice chunk of capacity will be coming available to be used elsewhere in the product line. More Maverick hybrids? Bronco Sport? Maverick van?

 

[Rick73]

18 hours ago, jpd80 said:

Or just build the North American version of Transit Connect…the biggest impediment with

the previous TC was no high roof option - that is what really hurt sales.

 

Could not agree more that interior headroom is crucial.  A roof that is too low limits demand for commercial and private applications alike.  IMO the previous generation of Ford Transit Custom was about as close to perfect as one can expect given everything requires compromise.

 

 

 

18 hours ago, jpd80 said:

 

 

the third vehicle on CE1 is supposed to be a van being sponsored by Ford Pro. Now if that is true,

it will be much wider than Transit Connect but not quite as wide as Transit Custom which is about 

the same width as RWD Transit. And the reason Transit Custom was not sold in US is to maximise

sales of RWD Transit.

 

Somewhere in middle between Maverick width of 72.6” and full-size vans sounds good for a compact mid-size EV van, but when talking about a new ICE/HEV and perhaps PHEV van based on Maverick platform, I’m curious how much wider could a new van be made on same C2 platform?  Assuming an all-new van design and not just a cargo box tacked on to a Maverick pickup to save money upfront.  Could width go up to 74~75 inch range?

[jpd80]

7 hours ago, Rick73 said:

 

Could not agree more that interior headroom is crucial.  A roof that is too low limits demand for commercial and private applications alike.  IMO the previous generation of Ford Transit Custom was about as close to perfect as one can expect given everything requires compromise.

 

 

 

 

Somewhere in middle between Maverick width of 72.6” and full-size vans sounds good for a compact mid-size EV van, but when talking about a new ICE/HEV and perhaps PHEV van based on Maverick platform, I’m curious how much wider could a new van be made on same C2 platform?  Assuming an all-new van design and not just a cargo box tacked on to a Maverick pickup to save money upfront.  Could width go up to 74~75 inch range?

The whole idea of low cost and non compete

with Ranger was using the narrower width limits of

the TC version of C2

 

while C2 can be built on a number of widths,

it’s usually best to stick with one width for the

maxi production efficiency and least number of

changes in body shop and driveline jigs

 

Since the van is an incremental product, I’m betting

that Ford will go for least number of changes to keep

prices and complexity down.

Edited August 31, 2025 by jpd80

[twintornados]

Since any Maverick based van would be marketed in both commercial and personal use....wondering if they'll give it two names like Europe does....Transit <something> for commercial use and Tourneo (Torino? Ranchero?) for personal use....I can hear the howls of "FOWL!!!!!!" now.....lol Maybe Chateau Club Wagon? No...wait...never use the word "wagon" in North America....it is a death sentence....

Edited September 1, 2025 by twintornados

[LSchicago]

I recently asked an AI program to make my 25 Maverick into a van you could buy at a dealer. This is what it came up with. 

[Zestyg]

God dammit, I thought someone found something when this topic got bumped. We are really fighting for scraps here until someone gets a spy shot of the skunk truck around Dearborn aren’t we?

[ExplorerDude]

1 hour ago, Zestyg said:

God dammit, I thought someone found something when this topic got bumped. We are really fighting for scraps here until someone gets a spy shot of the skunk truck around Dearborn aren’t we?

Unfortunately I believe this program was canceled at the beginning of 2026.

[DeluxeStang]

6 minutes ago, ExplorerDude said:

Unfortunately I believe this program was canceled at the beginning of 2026.

 

[Sherminator98]

30 minutes ago, ExplorerDude said:

Unfortunately I believe this program was canceled at the beginning of 2026.

 

I thought this was going to be the van that is going to OHAP?

[DeluxeStang]

Classic Ford move. Start a program, delay it, cancel it. Start it again, delay it, and then cancel it a second time. 

 

I feel like we should have our own community game of Ford based bingo at this point where it's like "Ford issues a new recall this week" "A product is cancelled" "Farley says the quote Porsche of off-road" 

 

I got bingo! 

[BenKohnen]

I've heard zero info on this, either "it's moving forward" or "it's dead, Jim". I do wonder if the whole Universal EV Platform rollout is the end of the Mav-Van, since they're already discussing vans on that platform.

[bzcat]

47 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

I thought this was going to be the van that is going to OHAP?

 

There is no way Ford is going to setup a 2nd C2 plant in Ohio just to build this van after mothballing an existing C2 plant in Louisville 🤣

 

 

[ExplorerDude]

1 hour ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

I thought this was going to be the van that is going to OHAP?

There is a van going to OHAP but it’s not the Maverick based van. This is new van is not electric either.
 

Let’s just say this new van isn’t as small as the Maverick based van would have been. Let’s say it will mirror the size of the reborn Ram Promaster City.