Because that is what people will be using them for 90% of the time?

But sales numbers of sedans over the past 15 years have been in decline.    I think what a lot of people miss is that there is a substantial amount of buyers out there that don't give a shit or buy the cheapest thing possible without any other considerations.    I also believe Ford is targeting the ones that do give or want something "extra" in their products, because more often then not they'll be loyal buyers down the road. 

But your argument isn't any different then what your saying with the Focus getting replaced by the Ranger-The Edge/MKX where replaced by different products in the lineup like I mentioned that might appeal to that demographic that would have bought them. Like I have said before-don't mistake the vocal minority with who actually buys things.   If that was the case, I could give you a list of cars that should have sold well over the past 20 years like wagons, stick shifts, etc. 

Maverick is not as affordable as it once was, and that was before tariffs on Mexico.  Conquest rate may decline if prices keep going up.  Granted, Ford is likely making much more profit on Maverick than at first when priced at +/- $20k.

Focus was replaced by Ranger and Bronco which probably has 2-3 times the ATPs of Corolla.  Corolla works for Toyota because they’re very good at amortizing that platform and keeping costs low.  That’s something they perfected over decades and they’re good at it.  Ford is better at making and selling Broncos.   What works for one mfr doesn’t work for all.  

And meanwhile we have tons of non Ford owners buying Mavericks.  Honda Civic is the most conquested vehicle for Maverick buyers.  I imagine Bronco Sport has similar conquest rates bringing in tons of first time Ford buyers who are passionate about those products.  That didn’t happen with Fusion.  

I thought it ironic that at about the time Ford announced the Focus would be discontinued, Toyota invested ~$170 Million to expand Corolla production at the Blue Springs, MS plant. Things worked out ok for both mfrs, Focus was less profitable than Mavrick or Bronco Sport for Ford, and volume efficiency improved for TMMMS.

They’re not throwing sales volume out the window.  What they’ve been doing is sacrificing current volume to fund new vehicles - Edge being the most recent.  And they’ve totally screwed the pooch getting new EVs out the door which makes the numbers look worse.  It’s better to sell 2M at 8% margin the 2.5M at a 4% margin.   Volume matters most at a platform level since that’s where most of the R&D happens.  C2 has already been heavily amortized worldwide.  Secondary is factory volume - you don’t want an entire factory running on one shift (or less) like Flat Rock.  2 full shifts covers overhead costs pretty well.  3 is gravy.  But this is where margin also comes into play.  2 shifts with an ATP of $35k at a 8% margin is far better than 3 shifts at $25k with 4% margin which I think describes Hermosillo perfectly.   In 2006 Ford’s entire Hapeville GA plant was dedicated to building Taurus rental cars.  They were lucky if they broke even which is why they closed it as part of the Way Forward Plan.   It’s a tricky equation that you have to balance between volume, ATP and profit margin and they are inversely proportional.   Adding volume is easy if you lower prices but you lose profit and increase your fixed overhead.     And the part I feel is most misunderstood by many here is the corporate level resources that are needed to develop new vehicles.  It’s not just the dollar cost.  You can’t assign hundreds of engineers and designers to the CE1 platform and 3 new vehicles without taking them from other vehicles and programs.  You’re not going to just hire a thousand new employees so it’s a zero sum game where you have to move resources around.

Respectfully, while the maverick is a low cost vehicle like the focus and fusion were, I don't see it as a direct replacement for those vehicles. Some of those owners transitioned into a maverick for sure, but many of them are looking at other brands now because they want a sedan body style. 

Sounds like WCF tried to set up his profile or use regular cruise control on Ford Digital Experience