Ford has revealed that its upcoming electric midsize truck will be called the Fathom. The standard-range model will start at $28,350, while the stated $1,595 destination charge raises the total to $29,945 before taxes, title, registration and other fees. Pre-orders are due to begin in early 2027, followed by the first deliveries later that year.
The Fathom will cost $3,545 more than the Slate Auto truck at base-price level. Slate Auto starts at $24,950, and its $1,450 destination fee brings the total to $26,400. The source describes that rival as a bare-bones pickup equipped with crank windows and no speakers. Ford is positioning the Fathom as a more comprehensively equipped option aimed at mainstream buyers.
Ford spent nine months searching for the truck’s name rather than choosing a numerical badge such as F-150. Fathom originally referred to the span of outstretched arms, later became a nautical verb used for measuring water depth and eventually developed into a metaphor for deep comprehension. Ford connects that meaning with the task of understanding its customers.
The company says the new truck will provide “more passenger volume than a Toyota RAV4” and accommodate five adults. The layout combines that passenger space with a front trunk and a pickup bed. Equipment detailed in the source includes a large touchscreen, bidirectional charging, a digital key and Apple Maps. Every Fathom will also be BlueCruise-capable, enabling hands-free highway driving.
Ford released an animated teaser presenting the truck through activities and milestones associated with ownership. The video includes surfing, playing music, mountain biking, camping, getting married, starting a business, moving into a new home and taking road trips. The teaser follows earlier material showing development sketches for the model.
The Fathom was created by Ford’s California-based skunkworks team, established in 2022 to operate outside the company’s usual corporate bureaucracy. Its assignment was to develop an electric vehicle that could be both affordable and profitable. The truck will become the first production model based on Ford’s flexible Universal Electric Vehicle architecture.
According to Ford, large aluminum unicastings cut weight by 27% compared with rival arrangements. The platform also reduces the number of parts by 20%, fasteners by 25% and factory workstations by 40%. A 48-volt electrical architecture is used, while the wiring harness is 4,000 feet, or 1,219 meters, shorter and 10 kg, or 22 lbs, lighter than those fitted to Ford’s first-generation electric vehicles.
Lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells will be produced at Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan, using technology licensed from China’s CATL. Entry-level versions will receive a basic battery pack. Extended-range variants are expected to cover 300 miles, or 483 km, despite using one-third fewer cells than Ford’s first-generation electric vehicles. Designers and engineers also lowered the roof height as far as possible to improve aerodynamics and extend range.
Production is supported by a $2 billion investment in Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky. The factory will replace the traditional linear assembly line with a parallel, tree-shaped layout. Ford is expected to release further information about the Fathom over the coming months as the early 2027 pre-order opening approaches.
