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June 3 (UPI) -- Ford announced Thursday it will add a new small pickup called Maverick to its truck lineup. The Maverick will be smaller than Ford's midsize Ranger and its full-size F-150. The truck will debut Tuesday on Ford's new U.S. TikTok channel. The truck is expected to go on sale by the end of the year.
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Meanwhile, General Motors said Thursday it was accelerating production of two of its full-size pickups.
GM, citing production line efficiencies at its Flint, Mich., assembly plant, said it would be increasing the manufacture of the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD full-size pickups by about 1,000 trucks per month beginning in mid-July.
The increase in production comes amid the global shortage of semiconductor chips. GM officials said there have been no shutdowns at the Flint plant because of the chip shortage.
GM also plans to increase shipments of Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups by about 30,000 through the week of July 5.
Those trucks, built at Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri, had been held at the plant awaiting parts because of the chip shortage, the company said.
Ford's new pickup is being produced at its Hermosillo plant in Mexico.
"Months of rumors, spy shots and speculation have all led to this moment. It's true -- Ford is adding an all-new compact pickup to the lineup, and it's called Maverick," the company said in a press release.
The new truck will be revealed with the help of actress Gabrielle Union, who will feature the truck on her own Instagram and TikTok channels, as well as on Ford's social channels and on Hulu.
"We do think there's some opportunity there because of how expensive trucks have gotten, how big they've gotten and the overall popularity of trucks," Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said, according to CNBC.
