This new hybrid ute seems to combine everything Aussies love, so why won't the 2025 Ford Maverick come to Australia to sit below the popular Ranger ute?

Ford USA seems to get all the good stuff - not just the partially Aussie-developed Bronco four-wheel drive but also the urban-friendly Maverick ute. 

The Mexican-built Maverick has just come in for its first mid-life update after launching in 2022, arriving with a new look, improved towing capacity and matching its hybrid powertrain with all-wheel drive for the first time. 

A hybrid, all-wheel drive ute that’s based on an SUV platform sounds like it could be a real hit with Australians but don’t expect the updated ute to arrive any time soon – despite Ford Australia having filed for the Maverick trademark in January.

“The Ford Maverick remains left-hand drive only and unavailable for Australia," a Ford spokesperson told CarsGuide. The Maverick has proven a runaway success for Ford generating 94,058 sales in 2023, a lot more than the Ranger’s 32,334 sales in the US.

Like Bronco, the Maverick has become a victim of its own success – its popularity is said to be part of what’s stalled its Australian viability. 

“We can do Bronco and Bronco Sport for the globe for sure,” Ford Boss Jim Farley told Carsguide in September 2023, “But we have, like, a year or two order bank so we have a lot of work to do on our capacity before we can even consider something like that.”

Despite the Maverick being based on the Ford Focus small car’s C2 platform it is still quite a large vehicle. Measuring over five metres long and riding on a 3076mm wheelbase it is only about 15cm shorter than a Ranger ute. 

In the United States, the new Maverick gets a revised fascia with tidier front bumper design and updated LED headlights with black trim. There’s a unique grille design for each trim, with those most popular being XL, XLT, Lariat, FX4 and Tremor. 

The XL, XLT and Lariat are all now available with an all-wheel drive version of the 142kW 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder-based hybrid powertrain for the first time. Ford says this was the number one request from Maverick owners. 

It is also available with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine which has been de-tuned by about 10kW to produce 177kW for the MY25 update. All models now get an increase in braked towing capacity to 1800kg. 

Inside, the new monocoque ute’s touchscreen grows from 8.0 to 13.2 inches with the latest software and a 5G internet connection onboard, as well as a 360-degree camera. 

For the luxury road-focussed Lariat AWD hybrid, Ford charges US$38,330 which translates to around $58,700 in our currency – a price like that would surely be competitive and attractive for Australian families. 

Ford has vowed not to bring the Maverick down under – at least for the time being – though Hyundai is looking to potentially bring its rival, the second generation Santa Cruz ute, to Australia in 2026. Ford will add a plug-in hybrid Ranger variant some time in 2025.