It’s not easy building cars right now.
Times are certainly tough for automakers. It’s not that people don’t want to buy new vehicles, just the opposite in fact. Supply problems relating to the global microchip shortage and the enduring COVID-19 pandemic are hitting every manufacturer. The latest victim appears to be the Ford Maverick, or rather, the least expensive version anyway.
A report from the forums at Maverick Truck Club surfaced on September 7, claiming that Maverick hybrid orders will not be selected for scheduling until further notice. The source for the information is a scheduling bulletin sent by Ford to dealers. In this instance, selected for scheduling means taking vehicle orders placed either by dealers or customers, and scheduling them for production. Previously, a delay was listed for dealer stock orders but this one appears to cover all Maverick orders. And listing it as until further notice isn’t exactly encouraging.
Gallery: 2022 Ford Maverick XL
We contacted Ford for some clarification on this situation, asking several questions including specific reasons for hybrid orders not being scheduled. We also asked if this refers to customer orders or dealer stock orders, and if EcoBoost orders are affected in any way. A Ford representative gave us the following statement:
“We are excited that both the Maverick Hybrid and EcoBoost will soon be on its way to dealer showrooms, and customers can currently order both trucks from their local dealer. As with any of our vehicles, we continuously adjust production to match demand with parts availability.”
The nature of the parts availability with the Maverick hybrid wasn’t addressed by Ford, nor was a potential timeframe offered for when hybrid orders might be scheduled for production. Some forum members at Maverick Truck Club with hybrid orders already in the system state their production dates still show as active, with some scheduled for production the first week of October.
It seems that Ford is at least able to produce what’s already scheduled, as there’s been no word of outright cancelations just yet. With the scheduling halted only on hybrid models, one must assume the delays are due to the hybrid powertrain.
Ford was very keen to tout the Maverick’s starting price (before destination charges) of under $20,000 in hybrid trim at its debut, not to mention the compact truck’s 40-mpg city mileage rating. With that truck apparently unavailable for at least a little while, we suspect things could get messy with Maverick buyers wanting to cash in on the low-cost hybrid while more expensive EcoBoost models roll out of the factory.
Source:
Maverick Truck Club
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