fath·om | \ ˈfa-thəm
noun 1: a unit of length equal to six feet, used chiefly in measuring the depth of water 2: archaic the span of a person's outstretched arms
verb 1: to measure the depth of; to sound 2: to penetrate and come to understand
The blueprint for Ford’s new midsize electric truck — from the engineering to its name — came from one place: a deep understanding of the person who would drive it.
Their day. Their challenges. Their goals. Even their wallet.
That owner's motivations look a little different from the traditional truck customer's, and defining them guided every decision on the first vehicle built on our Universal EV Platform. Which meant the name had to do more than sound good. It had to capture a mindset, shifting the focus from specs to a spirit of adaptability.
And today, we’re proud to introduce you to the new Ford Fathom.
Available for pre-order in early 2027, the midsize electric truck with standard-range battery has a starting MSRP of $28,3501 competing in the heart of the affordable EV market. But the price is the least interesting thing about it. Projected to have more passenger volume than a Toyota RAV4, with a large, high-resolution touch screen, bidirectional power capability, digital key, as well as a frunk and bed for added cargo flexibility, Fathom seats five adults and is just as comfortable on a workday commute as it is on a weekend adventure.
Advanced technology adds value to the already well-equipped Fathom. Every truck is BlueCruise capable, and the Fathom’s BlueCruise integration with Apple Maps offers a more seamless on-ramp to off-ramp experience. Fathom is also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capable.
The Ties that Bind
It’s common practice in the auto industry to name a vehicle with an alphanumeric code. A string of letters and numbers tells you about a trim level, an engine, a spec. It’s a practice we’ve employed at Ford, and vehicles like the F-150 have earned a lot of love with this naming convention. But we’ve been committed to doing things differently with this truck from the beginning. It’s in its DNA. And so, we wanted to choose a name — to give the vehicle personality, a soul, and make it a character in our customer’s life.
That philosophy guided our nine-month naming journey. Fathom’s capability is undeniable — but there is more to the product than appears to the eye.
The word Fathom itself has the layered quality we wanted. Long before it meant depth, fathom described the span of a person's outstretched arms, roughly six feet. Sailors borrowed that span to measure water they couldn't see the bottom of. And eventually the word came to mean something else entirely: to understand a thing completely.
A name about measuring what you can't see, that grew into a word about understanding. For a truck that started with years of trying to understand a specific customer, that was the whole brief in six letters.
The Art of the Cut
So how did we land on Fathom? Sometimes, figuring out what works starts with a long list of what doesn’t.
First, the team scoured the Ford archives, looking at how this company has named vehicles for more than a century, from the Galaxie and Taurus to Ford's first vehicle that bridged the gap between car and truck, the Ranchero (a pre-curser to the El Camino). Each option came with a specific implication, one that might not fit our new electric truck.
“What communicates depth below the surface? How do we communicate an emotional feeling of a vehicle that’s more than it appears to be?”
So the team asked themselves: What communicates depth below the surface? How do we communicate an emotional feeling of a vehicle that’s more than it appears to be? Two Ford copywriters separately conceived “Fathom.” It wasn’t an immediate decision, though. The name lived in a file with hundreds of other options.
Ahead of meetings where small groups of contender names were chopped, the naming team walked the floor asking as many as 15 engineers to pick their favorite. One engineer — unsurprisingly someone who fit the truck’s customer profile — had the uncanny ability to choose the winner before every meeting.
As the list dwindled, Fathom survived every single cut until it was on a short list, easily separating itself as the top choice among focus groups. And that engineer? He was the first to hear about the final selection.
We built our new midsize electric truck for a person we spent years getting to know. As customers start exploring the technology and design of Fathom, that's when the connection between name, product and driver becomes clear.
Kay Hart is the general manager of Ford Model e.
Ford’s new midsize electric truck — the first vehicle produced on the Universal EV Platform — is called the Ford Fathom.
The Ford Fathom truck has a starting MSRP of $28,3501 with a standard-range battery. Pre-ordering begins early 2027.
Every Fathom truck will be equipped with the hardware necessary for Ford’s next generation of BlueCruise capability. Once activated, BlueCruise is a driver assist feature that provides a hands-off, eyes-on driving experience when driving on designated highways called hands-free Blue Zones. The electric truck’s next generation BlueCruise integration with Apple Maps will deliver a more seamless on-ramp to off-ramp experience. It will also maintain compatibility with standard CarPlay and Android Auto. Fathom will also have a digital car key and bi-directional power capability.
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1Starting MSRP for base model excludes taxes, title, registration, and fees.
