Ford says the first model produced on its new low-cost electric vehicle platform will be called Fathom and have a starting price of $28,350. Why it matters: The truck, arriving in 2027 as part of a new family of affordable EVs, is Ford's answer to mounting competition from China.For CEO Jim Farley, the project is nothing short of a "Model T moment" for Ford. By the numbers: The starting price puts Fathom right on top of Ford's small Maverick hybrid pickup, which starts at $28,145.Add $1,595 for delivery, and the base Fathom costs just shy of $30,000 for the standard battery package.Ford has not shown the vehicle to the public yet, but pre-orders begin in early 2027.Zoom in: The Fathom was designed from the ground up by a skunkworks group of engineers obsessed with efficiency and cost reductions.It will seat five adults and is projected to have more passenger volume than a Toyota RAV4.The truck will also feature a large, high-resolution touchscreen, bidirectional power capability, and a front trunk, or "frunk," in addition to the pickup cargo bed.Tech features include Ford's BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system integrated with Apple Maps for a more seamless on-ramp to off-ramp experience, the company says. The intrigue: Ford spent nine months trying to come up with the name, rejecting typical alphanumeric codes as well as legacy names from the Ford archives like Galaxie, Taurus and Ranchero. In the end, Ford said it chose Fathom to reflect "a new depth of innovation" that allowed the company "to fathom possibilities once thought beyond reach."