Ford keeps Australian hopes alive for Maverick small pick-up

Ford has filed a local trademark application for the Maverick – the name of the company's popular small pick-up sold in North America.

While Ford's local arm had previously ruled out the Maverick for an Australian release, curiously the trademark filing comes more than two years after the small ute was first unveiled.

However, Ford had previously trademarked the Maverick Thunder name in July 2022 – at the same time it submitted trademark applications for the Ranger Thunder and F-150 Thunder.

As exclusively reported by Drive in November 2022, Ford eventually withdrew its application for the Ranger Thunder – which was thought to be due to the Mazda BT-50 Thunder already on sale in Australia in the same vehicle category.

Despite the strange timing of the latest Maverick trademark filing, Ford Australia was quick to pour water on the possibility of the small ute being announced locally at this stage when asked by Drive.

MORE: 2023 Ford Maverick Lariat pick-up review

"Ford Australia submits trademark applications for various brand assets as a normal course of business, but they aren't necessarily an indication of new branding, badging or product plans," a spokesperson for the company told Drive.

Ford currently partners with RMA to convert F-150 pick-ups from left to right-hand-drive for Australian roads.

While nothing has been announced at this stage, at the launch of the F-150 in 2023, a spokesperson for RMA told media it was possible to add new vehicles to its production for conversion to right-hand drive.

Ford's global head of international markets, Dianne Craig, told Drive in early October 2022 any plans to bring the Maverick to Australia become "complicated".

In the US, the Ford Maverick is priced from $US25,410 – or approximately $AU38,670 – which means once the cost of converting it to right-hand-drive and freight is added to the price, the price of the small ute would likely encroach on the cheaper end of the Ford Ranger dual-cab line-up.