Photo: Ford
Over in Brazil, the Ford Motor Company offers the Maverick and Bronco Sport at 240,490 and 267,900 reais. Converted at current exchange rates, you get $46,540 and $51,850 sans taxes, which is a lot compared to the U.S. starting prices of the compact pickup truck and off-road crossover.
Why are the Maverick and Bronco Sport so expensive in this part of the world? The answer is rather simple. In order to protect local automobile production, the import tax is 35 percent. But more importantly, both models are sold in Brazil in well-equipped specs: Lariat FX4 with the 2.0L turbo for the Maverick and Wildtrak 2.0L turbo for the Bronco Sport.
These incredibly high starting prices understandably led to abysmal sales, although the Ford Motor Company knew from the very beginning that it would be wishful thinking to dream of high volumes. On the other hand, the Dearborn-based brand is trying to correct this problem by introducing the unibody truck and crossover to the Ford Go subscription service.
The what? Ford Go can be summed up as follows: customer pays a fixed amount of reais every month. That money also covers maintenance, insurance, documentation, taxes, and the IPVA, the latter being a tax applied to the possession of motorized vehicles. Now have a wild guess of how much the Maverick and Bronco Sport cost per month via Ford Go.
6,550 reais (approximately $1,270) for the Maverick and 7,990 reais (approximately $1,550) for the Bronco Sport. Lower down the spectrum, the Transit, Territory, and Ranger are also available through Ford Go. The most affordable subscription of the bunch is for the Territory in Titanium flavor at 5,050 reais or in the ballpark of $980 at current exchange rates.
The minimum wage in Brazil is 1,212 reais per month, as in $235 at current exchange rates. That should give you a clue about what kind of people can afford these vehicles through the Ford Go subscription service. It should also be clear why Ford sales are on a downward spiral in this part of the world, a situation that the Blue Oval has only itself to blame for.
Lest we forget, the American automaker restructured its South American operations in 2021, thus ending automobile production in Brazil. In addition to dealing a heavy blow to its workers and dealers, the Ford Motor Company also burned through billions of dollars in Brazil, hence its decision to end Brazilian production with a whimper rather than a bang.
Based on the latest sales numbers available, Brazilians prefer the Ranger over every other Ford product available in their country. The mid-size truck is marketed as a 2023 model, just like in the United States, but it’s not the redesigned truck that Europe and the Indo-Pacific markets get.
These incredibly high starting prices understandably led to abysmal sales, although the Ford Motor Company knew from the very beginning that it would be wishful thinking to dream of high volumes. On the other hand, the Dearborn-based brand is trying to correct this problem by introducing the unibody truck and crossover to the Ford Go subscription service.
The what? Ford Go can be summed up as follows: customer pays a fixed amount of reais every month. That money also covers maintenance, insurance, documentation, taxes, and the IPVA, the latter being a tax applied to the possession of motorized vehicles. Now have a wild guess of how much the Maverick and Bronco Sport cost per month via Ford Go.
6,550 reais (approximately $1,270) for the Maverick and 7,990 reais (approximately $1,550) for the Bronco Sport. Lower down the spectrum, the Transit, Territory, and Ranger are also available through Ford Go. The most affordable subscription of the bunch is for the Territory in Titanium flavor at 5,050 reais or in the ballpark of $980 at current exchange rates.
The minimum wage in Brazil is 1,212 reais per month, as in $235 at current exchange rates. That should give you a clue about what kind of people can afford these vehicles through the Ford Go subscription service. It should also be clear why Ford sales are on a downward spiral in this part of the world, a situation that the Blue Oval has only itself to blame for.
Lest we forget, the American automaker restructured its South American operations in 2021, thus ending automobile production in Brazil. In addition to dealing a heavy blow to its workers and dealers, the Ford Motor Company also burned through billions of dollars in Brazil, hence its decision to end Brazilian production with a whimper rather than a bang.
Based on the latest sales numbers available, Brazilians prefer the Ranger over every other Ford product available in their country. The mid-size truck is marketed as a 2023 model, just like in the United States, but it’s not the redesigned truck that Europe and the Indo-Pacific markets get.
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