The Ford Fathom is the name of the Blue Oval’s new budget electric dual-cab ute, which will become the brand’s cheapest electric vehicle (EV) in North America when it goes on sale next year, and it could be on the cards for Australia.
Ford said the Fathom name was settled on after a nine-month process to name the new vehicle, with former Ford Australia CEO Kay Hart, now general manager of Ford’s Model e electric-vehicle division, confirming the new nameplate.
“We wanted to choose a name to give the vehicle personality, a soul, and make it a character in our customer’s life,” Ms Hart said in a statement.
The new name avoids the controversy surrounding Ford’s revival of previous nameplates for some of its EVs, including the Mustang Mach-E and, more recently, the Capri sold in Europe.
“Each [existing nameplate] option came with a specific implication, one that might not fit our new electric truck,” Ms Hart said.
Yet to be unveiled globally, the Ford Fathom hasn’t been confirmed for Australian showrooms but the automaker has confirmed its underpinnings have been engineered for right-hand drive countries.
A camouflaged version was spotted testing for the first time in California in June 2026 by US outlet The Autopian.
Smaller than a Ford Ranger, the Fathom is the first model to use Ford’s new US$1 billion (A$1.42 billion) Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) architecture, developed to bring more affordable EVs to showrooms.
It will be priced from US$29,945 (A$42,577) in the US, including destination charges.
The similarly sized Ford Maverick hybrid ute, which isn’t sold in Australia, is the only new Ford model to undercut the Fathom in the US. It starts at US$28,145 (A$40,017) and measures 5075mm long, compared with 5403mm for a Ranger.
The Fathom will join the Mexican-made Mustang Mach-E SUV and E-Transit large van in Ford’s US EV lineup. Both are also currently offered in Australia.
The Mustang Mach-E starts at US$37,795 (A$53,738) in North America and $65,990 before on-road costs in Australia, while the E-Transit starts at US$48,150 (A$68,461) in the US. A single E-Transit variant is offered in Australia, priced at $89,990 before on-road costs.
Few technical details have been revealed, but Ford confirmed several key features as part of the Fathom announcement.
The new ute will have a front cargo area, or ‘frunk’, in addition to its rear tray, along with five seats and more passenger space than a Toyota RAV4 SUV.
It will also feature a large, high-resolution central touchscreen and Ford’s digital key technology.
Ford announced last month the Fathom will use Apple Maps for its built-in satellite-navigation system, enabling turn-by-turn navigation as well as EV-specific routing features including battery preconditioning.
The Fathom will also be equipped with hardware for Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver-assistance system, which can control steering, braking and vehicle speed on compatible pre-mapped roads.
Ford has also described the Fathom as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capable.
Few powertrain details have been released, but Ford has confirmed the Fathom will offer bidirectional charging capability.
The UEV program follows billions of dollars in losses from Ford’s EV operations, which included the now-discontinued F-150 Lightning EV that wasn’t offered here by the Blue Oval.
Ford executive chair Bill Ford described the start of F-150 Lightning production in April 2022 as a “Model T moment for the 21st century”.
The Blue Oval expects its EV losses to top US$4 billion (A$5.7 billion) in 2026 alone, including development costs for the UEV architecture as well as its new battery energy business launched in the US earlier this year.
Despite EVs achieving record Australian market share in May and June 2026, the Mustang Mach-E recorded just 161 sales between January and July, down 40.1 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.