Linglong said Ford requested a full-size spare for the Maverick program—rather than a temporary space-saver (T spare)—and specified the size for it. Nonetheless, the Atlas Priva offers weight and cost savings relative to having a spare that matches the vehicle's OE tires.
Ford launched the Maverick in June 2022 as the entry point into the Ford light truck brand. The four-door, five-passenger pickup sits on a 121-inch wheelbase and overall is 11 inches shorter than the Ford Ranger small pickup. It features a hybrid engine, which is expected to get fuel economy of 40 mpg city. It can haul up to 1,500 pounds, and it can tow up to 4,000 pounds with an optional EcoBoost gasoline engine.
The truck has been engineered on the same unibody front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive C2 platform that underpins the Lincoln Corsair and Ford Escape and Bronco Sport crossovers. It's assembled at Ford's plant in Sonora, Mexico.
Founded in 1975, Linglong is a global tire manufacturer that makes a wide variety of tire types. It provides OEM fitments to nearly 100 manufacturing bases of 60 global OEMs, including BMW, Ford and Volkswagen in the North American market. Parent company Linglong Tyres Co. Ltd., based in Shadong, China, ranks No. 12 among global tire companies, according to Rubber News data, with sales of about $2.75 billion.
The all-new Ford Maverick compact pickup truck was selected as the 2022 North American Truck of the Year by the journalists at the Detroit Auto Show this past January. It's the first standard full-hybrid pickup in America, according to Ford Motor Co.
Both the truck and the tire were on display at the 2022 Ford Maverick Vehicle Event, which was part of the SAE WCX World Congress Experience, April 5-7, also held in Detroit.
Tire Business contributed to this report.
