Photo: Ford
The United States and European Union have particularly different preferences in automobiles. Case in point: America loves pickup trucks whereas the Old Continent is where the panel van is king of the hill. Obviously enough, the body-on-frame Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator don’t sell well in this part of the world because customers prefer crossovers.
Be that as it may, Ford Motor Company chief executive officer Jim Farley believes that Broncos would be perfect for European roads. Speaking to Auto Express at the Goodwood Revival, the big kahuna said: “I’m just waiting for these guys [Ford of Europe executives] to make up their mind.”
Jim Hackett's successor also made it clear that “it would work fine” in this part of the world. But is he right? Let’s crunch some numbers...
In 2020, which happened to be a terrible year for the whole industry because of that pesky virus, the Jeep Wrangler sold 7,262 examples of the breed in Europe. Seriously! That’s worse than a single month of sales in the United States, and these differences further extend to the Ranger pickup.
The smaller brother of the F-150 moved 43,046 units in Europe and 101,486 units in the U.S. last year, and there’s another piece of information that Jim Farley has omitted. More to the point, Euro 7 will make the vast majority of internal combustion-engined vehicles unviable as of 2025. The 2.3- and 2.7-liter EcoBoost aren’t exactly the fuel-sipping mills that Europeans are accustomed to, which is why the Bronco’s commercial viability in the European lineup is pretty questionable. Still, there is a silver lining.
Ford made it clear that it’s working on a plug-in hybrid Bronco, and a full-electric option will eventually happen to compete against the e-Wrangler previewed by the Magneto Concept. It’s also worth mentioning the Kuga, a.k.a. the Escape’s European cousin, features the same platform as the Bronco Sport. The “baby Bronco” would make a lot more sense in this part of the world, but nevertheless, only time will tell what FoMoCo is up to.
Jim Hackett's successor also made it clear that “it would work fine” in this part of the world. But is he right? Let’s crunch some numbers...
In 2020, which happened to be a terrible year for the whole industry because of that pesky virus, the Jeep Wrangler sold 7,262 examples of the breed in Europe. Seriously! That’s worse than a single month of sales in the United States, and these differences further extend to the Ranger pickup.
The smaller brother of the F-150 moved 43,046 units in Europe and 101,486 units in the U.S. last year, and there’s another piece of information that Jim Farley has omitted. More to the point, Euro 7 will make the vast majority of internal combustion-engined vehicles unviable as of 2025. The 2.3- and 2.7-liter EcoBoost aren’t exactly the fuel-sipping mills that Europeans are accustomed to, which is why the Bronco’s commercial viability in the European lineup is pretty questionable. Still, there is a silver lining.
Ford made it clear that it’s working on a plug-in hybrid Bronco, and a full-electric option will eventually happen to compete against the e-Wrangler previewed by the Magneto Concept. It’s also worth mentioning the Kuga, a.k.a. the Escape’s European cousin, features the same platform as the Bronco Sport. The “baby Bronco” would make a lot more sense in this part of the world, but nevertheless, only time will tell what FoMoCo is up to.
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