Is Ford soon announcing a new pickup truck for 20K?

It may be called the Courier or the Ranchero. It currently has the codename 758. For now, it’s wait and see as Ford is likely to officially announce a new, small pickup truck with a base cost of less than $20,000.

The unnamed vehicle, according to various industry publications, will debut in late 2021 with perhaps a return to the new of two former iconic vehicles.

Ford has used the Courier nameplate on several cars and trucks, dating to the early 1950s and ending less than a decade ago in Brazil. Ranchero was the name of the coupe utility vehicle made by Ford from 1957 to 1979.

The new truck, which has been discussed for several years, will continue Ford’s trend away from building sedans. It will equipped with a 1.5-liter or 2.0-liter turbo gasoline engine with an eight-speed, torque-converter automatic.

With its expecting starting price, the new unibody truck, currently codenamed 758, would cost about $4,500 less than its current least expensive base model of the Ford Ranger. The Honda Ridgeline, the only unibody pickup currently available, has a starting price of slightly more than $35,000. Hyundai also has a unibody truck planned.

The Ford F series of pickups has been the best-selling vehicle in North America for several decades. The manufacturer has announced the vehicle. But a report in Automotive News, a trade print and online publication, detailed the pending new truck was introduced to the 100 of the automaker’s 100 highest-volume dealers and a gathering in Tucson, Arizona, in February.

While not discussing further specifics, Ford noted it wants its pending new entry-level truck to sell at least 100,000 units in its first year.

More reports industry publications detail the new truck will debut in South America followed by its launch in North America.

With the increase in small truck and SUV sales, Ford has steadily streamlined its sedan offerings. With the demise of about 350,000 sales combined for the final sales of Ford Fusion, Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta, the automaker needs a new entry-level vehicle. The Ford Ecosport subcompact crossover is Ford’s current cheapest vehicle, priced at $19,999.

Ford also apparently will expand its truck lineup with a Bronc-based model. It will join the Ranger, F-Series and Super Duty and the still-to-be-named new truck.